Kaitlan Collins Does 'Unusual' Thing During Live CNN Broadcast

Stalwart CNN star Kaitlan Collins got to do something unusual during her live broadcast on Tuesday, June 23, when she informed New York Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander live on air that he just won his primary election.

The moment occurred during an episode of The Source with Kaitlan Collins, in which Lander, an ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, appeared as a live guest while votes were being counted.

As CNN prepared to make an official projection, Collins paused the interview to deliver the breaking news to the candidate.

“We came on the air just a couple of minutes ago as the numbers were still coming in. In your race, I'm gonna do something a little unusual here. So I want you to bear with me. Not many candidates are on CNN when they hear this music,” she said. “But we do have breaking news, and we can now project that Brad Lander will defeat the incumbent congressman, Dan Goldman, in the Democratic primary for New York’s 10th congressional district. And, sir, obviously, since we have you here live on air, as we are making this call, um, what is your first reaction to this?”

CNN then played its signature "Breaking News" campaign music and officially projected that Lander would defeat incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the primary for New York's 10th congressional district.

Lander, the former New York City Comptroller, expressed surprise and excitement at the real-time announcement, saying he didn’t expect the race to be called while he was actively on television.

He stated he was "thrilled" and honored to hear the news on the program and pledged to fight for working-class constituents and advocate for an affordable city.

“Well, thank you. First of all, obviously, I’m thrilled,” Lander said. “I did not expect to be on air when the race was called. Look, I love election day. I like the voters get to go out and cast their ballots and say, here’s who we want to represent us. These are the fights that matter to us. And all I can say is I promise to go out every single day and fight for my constituents and the values that they have because we need a country that stands up for working people. It doesn’t make it so hard to live here. I’ll be fighting for a city everyone can afford and where everyone is welcome. And I’m really honored to be on your show tonight.”

Goldman, the popular incumbent, issued a concession speech saying, "Tonight, the voters of the 10th District have spoken. While this is not the outcome I worked so hard for, I respect their decision."

As a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, Goldman used his platform to highlight hostile rhetoric he encountered during the race and focused his concession remarks on respecting the voters' choice, warning against rising antisemitism, and urging Democratic party unity.

During the campaign, Lander blasted Goldman for not doing enough to challenge billionaires who were responsible for the election of Donald Trump.

"My real beef with [Goldman] is that he's not taking on the wealthy special interests and billionaires that have brought Trump in the first place," Lander said.

After winning the primary, Lander shifted to thanking Goldman for his service to the district, promising to continue the immigration triage clinic that Goldman had previously launched