NEW YORK – Rep. Jamaal Bowman was defeated in a suburban New York race that culminated in a referendum on progressives’ attitudes toward Israel and the most expensive House primary in U.S. history.
Moderate Democrat George Latimer defeated Bowman on Tuesday, making Bowman the first member of the Squad to lose an election since the far-left group was founded in 2018. Latimer, a challenger who ran as an incumbent, benefited from an unprecedented influx of outside money in a primary fueled by accusations of racism and sharp divisions within the party over the war between Israel and Hamas.
A leading pro-Israel group spent more than $14 million on TV ads to oust him. And as the results poured in, it became clear that AIPAC and its super PAC United Democracy Project had succeeded in making an example of the two-term member of Congress for routinely criticizing Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Yet many of the TV ads attacking Bowman or praising Latimer made scant mention of Israel and focused instead on infrastructure spending and other issues of local interest.
The House district, which includes affluent suburban communities and diverse urban neighborhoods, is not expected to be in play for Republicans in November, making Bowman’s defeat a triumph for centrist Democrats. Since the recent rise of progressives, Latimer and his fellow moderates have tried to drag the party back to the center, especially when it comes to Israel policy.
AIPAC and its super PAC have spent heavily across the country in an effort to unseat other critics of Israel, but nowhere did they expect such an advantage as Bowman County, with a large Jewish population.
The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project pledged in a statement to reiterate its support for Latimer against Israeli critics across the country.
“Latimer’s victory is yet another example of how support for the US-Israel alliance is both good policy and good politics,” the group said. “UDP will continue to support leaders who promote our partnership with Israel and oppose opponents regardless of political party.”
Bowman, who was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, was first elected in a progressive wave in 2020 — defeating longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel defeated.
This time, his critics encouraged registered Republicans and people not registered with any party to become Democrats so they could participate in the closed-party primaries. And a coalition supporting yeshivas interests spent more than $1 million throughout the race to register 2,000 Republicans and independents as Democrats.
Bowman has called for a ceasefire and criticized President Joe Biden for supplying weapons to Israel in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. He also questioned whether there was sexual violence during those attacks and later apologized.
And Latimer himself charted a cautious approach to Israel.
He traveled to the country in late 2023, shortly before announcing his bid for the House seat. He has also condemned Hamas for the civilian deaths in Gaza when Israel bombed the enclave and pressed for the return of hostages kidnapped in the October attack. But Latimer has been careful not to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for much of the campaign, refusing to accept Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for a new Israeli government.
DMFI PAC, which spent $425,000 on TV ads to boost Latimer’s bid, called his victory the result of “smart politics” on both Israel and the Democratic Party’s core issues.
“These results also affirm President Biden’s vision for a mainstream and inclusive Democratic Party, as well as the Biden-Latimer approach – bringing people together to achieve important results, like the infrastructure bill that rebuilds our crumbling roads, bridges and water systems,” DMFI said PAC Chairman Mark Mellman said.
Latimer’s allies insisted that Israel was just one factor in their argument against Bowman, a former high school principal. Bowman’s opponents accused him of not being present in the district during his two terms and that setting off a fire alarm during a House vote was an embarrassment. His vote against a major infrastructure investment package also became campaign fodder.
Latimer, the Westchester County executive, has spent decades in local and state election office, making him a familiar face to Democratic voters and an unusually formidable primary challenger to an incumbent lawmaker. He received support from a range of party officials, elected leaders and local unions.
Bowman entered the race with some big advantages: District lines were redrawn somewhat in his favor, and New York House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries endorsed him — but offered little visible support afterward.
That was left in the final days of the race to prominent left-wing Democrats such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who joined Bowman on Saturday.
Bowman insisted his campaign was built around lower-income people of color in the district, who were ignored by elected officials. He received support from a constellation of left-wing organizations that play a key role in progressive politics, including the Working Families Party and Make the Road Action.
The WFP said on Tuesday it was spending $506,000 on advertising – a fraction of the money that poured in to support Latimer’s challenge. Combined, Bowman-allied organizations spent $1.75 million.
And on the home stretch, Bowman said AIPAC and its support of Latimer were “fueled by racist MAGA Republicans.”
“I am an outspoken black man,” Bowman said during the final TV debate on PIX11. “His supporters don’t want that because it challenges their power.”
Bowman supporters recognized that Latimer’s retail political skills and the enormous spending on his behalf pose an impressive challenge. But they also insisted that the success against one Squad member will be difficult to replicate in other parts of the country.
“They found an old elected official who was willing to be bribed,” Working Families Party co-chair Ana María Archila said. “But they won’t be able to repeat that everywhere.”
