Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) on Monday became the first incumbent House Democrat to endorse Westchester County Executive George Latimer (D) in his bid to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.J.) .Y.) in the closely watched primary contest in suburban New York.
The endorsement from Gottheimer, a moderate who chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, comes a day before Tuesday’s primary, which largely focused on Bowman’s criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Proud to support @LatimerforNY. We need more common-sense leaders and problem solvers in Congress. I know George will fight hate in all forms and defend the values we all believe in,” Gottheimer wrote on social platform X on Monday.
The congressman joins several political heavyweights in supporting Latimer.
Two weeks ago, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who represented New York in the Senate, endorsed Latimer over Bowman.
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (DN.Y.), once seen as a progressive ally of Bowman, endorsed his primary challenger earlier this month. Bowman and Jones were elected in 2020 to represent New York’s 16th and 17th congressional districts, succeeding longtime representatives Eliot Engel (DN.Y.) and Nita Lowey (DN.Y.), respectively. Engel and Lowey also supported Latimer over Bowman.
Bowman retained most of the support of his caucus, including from House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.). Many of her progressive colleagues, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), rallied behind Bowman ahead of the primary contest.
A poll conducted earlier this month by Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill shows that Bowman may still be underwater in his district. The poll put Latimer ahead of Bowman by 17 points, 48% to 31%, with 21% still undecided.
The poll found that 51% of respondents have a favorable view of Bowman, compared to 43% who have an unfavorable view of him. By comparison, 65 percent said they had a favorable view of Latimer, while 23 percent had an unfavorable opinion.
The seat is reliably blue, so the winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary is the heavy favorite to win in November.
The Hill has reached out to the Bowman and Latimer campaigns for comment.
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