Rep. Jamaal Bowman (DN.Y.) is fighting for political survival in the ugliest Democratic primary of the cycle, while his political future — and the party’s progressive power — hang in the balance.
The race for New York’s 16th Congressional District pitted Bowman, a progressive, against centrist George Latimer, who has the support of prominent figures such as Hillary Clinton, in an explosive and costly fight that pitted competing special interests, outside expenses and personal resources. . attacks front and center.
Polls suggest that Bowman, a member of the so-called Squad, is in serious danger of losing after his criticism of Israel sparked an all-out effort to remove him from Congress. Some warn that this could be the end of the progressive legislator’s candidacy in the Chamber.
“He’s super vulnerable,” said a Democratic campaign strategist working to re-elect Bowman. “He’s not necessarily the most liked internally.”
“People think he won’t win,” the strategist added grimly.
Tuesday’s primaries emerged as one of 2024’s biggest litmus tests on the issue of Israel. Unlike other races that have tested the strength of left-wing insurgencies against the establishment, the Westchester-Bronx district race is not being fought over nuances in support for President Biden or economic issues like health care reform and education.
Instead, it focuses on the conflict in the Middle East after Hamas launched a terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, killing thousands of Israeli civilians and triggering a response that led to tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. The conflict has deepened a long-standing divide in the Democratic Party, where staunchly pro-Israel Democrats find themselves at odds with those on the left who are outraged by the rising number of humanitarian deaths in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s definitely become a big dividing line,” said Sam Drzymala, founder of Progressive Victory, a network of online content creators who is organizing a rally for Bowman this weekend.
“Israel-Palestine has generated a lot of interest and energy and the long-term implications of the race are much bigger than just one issue,” Drzymala added.
The Bowman primary is emerging as the latest flashpoint in the intraparty debate.
While Latimer hasn’t gotten any endorsements from Bowman’s House colleagues, some of them are openly criticizing the incumbent and have warned they may enter the race as Tuesday approaches.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (DN.Y.), who represents the neighboring 15th District, publicly sparred with his fellow New Yorker after Bowman, during apodcast interviewlast week said Torres was “very calculated” and “trying to gain political power for himself toward an ultimate goal” when discussing his stance on Israel.
Torres responded, suggesting that an endorsement against the incumbent could be on the horizon.
“I have a general rule not to speak against a Democratic congressman who has not spoken against me,” he said in a statement. “But Bowman’s gratuitous attack on my character might make me rethink that rule. Stay tuned.”
Meanwhile, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish Democrat from Florida, refused to take a position on the New York race when asked about the issue on CNN last week, but did not shy away from criticizing her House colleague over the its position on Israel.
“All I will say about this race is that it is terribly, terribly unacceptable that the rhetoric that Jamaal Bowman used — that he is engaging in anti-Semitic rhetoric,” Wasserman-Schultz said, alleging that he “engaged in conduct unbecoming of a member of the Congress and it is terribly regrettable.”
“His voters will have to decide whether they want to return him to Congress,” she added.
On the other hand, fellow progressive Mondaire Jones (DNY) supported Latimer, setting off a firestorm among left-wing lawmakers and activists who called it an affront. Jones himself is trying to re-enter the halls of Congress in the 17th Congressional District on Tuesday.
Amidst the mud, the progressive coalition from Washington to New York is paying for the defense, pulling out all the stops to ensure that Bowman survives the brutal and difficult climb to secure a third term.
He has two of the left’s most influential elected figures — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) — on his side, with the pair organizing a rally for him in the sweltering heat . heat in the Bronx on Saturday.
The Bronx is an important place for all three Democrats: Ocasio-Cortez grew up there, while Sanders was the first presidential candidate in decades to visit the area during his 2016 run. Bowman, a high school principal in his past life, says with district residents to warmly welcome their replacements.
Both leaders framed the race, in part, as a fight against the influence of special interests in the primaries — specifically, spending by pro-Israel groups that have targeted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle because of their positions on the war.
Members of the left have long sought to resist the influence of groups like the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which have invested millions of dollars in candidates who support their cause. The progressive effort against AIPAC and related groups reflects their years-long push for other forms of corporate reform.
“A lot of money, from AIPAC to Wall Street, poured millions into buying this election,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an X post announcing the Sanders rally.
“They have a lot of influence,” Bowman told the “Night School” podcast last week when discussing pro-Israel lobbying groups.
He went on to argue that if he entered Congress in 2021 as a credible supporter of Israel, his political future would be different.
“If I appeared in some tweet in support of Israel all the time, like when I first joined… my bank account, first of all, would be emptied, to the right, to the point where the left, because I would be then the right, then the left wouldn’t really want to challenge me because I would have a full bank account,” he added.
Progressives see the destroyed financial records as a key indication of interest in the race and the dynamics at play vis-à-vis Israel. A spending count by AdTrak, a political metrics tracking website, noted that the race “saw more than $23 million in spending and reserves, making it the most expensive House primary ever,” according to with a post on X. United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, contributed the vast majority of this funding, with just over $14 million.
That’s seven times the amount Bowman’s campaign spent, according to the tracker.
“This issue has greatly stimulated several different sides, including an enormous amount of debate,” Drzymala said.
Bowman, who has defended himself against other scandals this term, from pulling a fire alarm in the House to apologizing for saying rape allegations against Israeli women were a “lie,” has seen signs that his standing with voters is slipping. over the last several years. months.
“As soon as I received additional information from the UN, we condemned sexual violence, voted to condemn it, and continued to do the work,” Bowman told WNYC this week.
An Emerson College/The Hill/PIX-11 poll conducted earlier this month shows Latimer, the Westchester County executive, with a significant 17-point lead over Bowman among likely voters, a rare advantage for a lesser candidate. acquaintance who challenges an incumbent. But the poll also revealed that a large portion of voters – 21% – were undecided.
Another poll conducted by the Mellman Group, which runs the Democratic Majority Israel super PAC, shows the same 17-point figure.
Bowman was an early supporter of a ceasefire in the Democratic caucus, pushing for an end to mutual fighting when many in the party felt Israel had not adequately responded to the deadly attack on its civilians. As these calls amplified among other progressives inside and outside Congress, Bowman redoubled his support.
Latimer’s approach has been to suggest that Bowman’s words against Israel’s conservative government undermine its right to exist and weaken America’s main ally in the Middle East. Bowman, for example, does not support increasing financial support for Iron Dome.
Bowman, however, has repeatedly accused Latimer of using racist dog whistles. He criticized the moderate for commenting that Bowman’s “constituency is in Dearborn, Michigan.” – a predominantly Arab-American enclave – and claimed that Latimer was trying to characterize him as an “angry black man.”
Some argue that Bowman is not on equal footing with other progressive Democrats, whose fortunes have been tested by pro-Israel rivals and moderates. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) won her primary bid this cycle and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has a fundraising advantage and scored critical endorsements ahead of her August primary.
“These others have always been constantly challenged,” the Democratic strategist said of the Squad’s vulnerable members. “They keep winning” — but Bowman, the source noted, may be the exception.
“I think he’s super vulnerable and that’s why people are investing money… to go out and work for him on the side,” the source added. “The prediction game for me is always scary.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
