WASHINGTON (AP) — When Jamaal Bowman first ran for Congress, he chastised his opponent — a 16-term Democratic congressman and chairman of a powerful House committee — for being disconnected from his suburban neighborhood. New York and focused too much on foreign policy.
The message helped Bowman defeat incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel and become the first black man to represent the 16th Congressional District. But four years later, the case he brought against Engel ended in his own political downfall in one of the country’s most closely watched primaries, when he became the first member of the progressive band of liberals known as the ‘Squad ‘ who lost a re-election bid. .
“He became the person he accused Engel of being,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political consultant, said Wednesday. “Much more involved in foreign affairs, less involved in community outreach. Much more rhetoric, much less constituent outreach.”
The decisive victory of 70-year-old George Latimer, a white centrist Democrat, handed the left flank its first electoral defeat this cycle, raising concerns about how other incumbents might fare in the coming months and, more broadly, whether the progressives retreat to Washington.
“The pendulum has swung back,” said Jay Jacobs, chairman of the Democratic Party of New York. “It’s a clear indication that the Democratic Party is moving toward common-sense solutions and common-sense governance, and that it wants to favor those candidates, rather than those from the extreme.”
But progressives caution against seeing Bowman’s defeat as a major factor, as other factors have made his path to re-election difficult. For starters, the district’s boundaries have shifted since Bowman first took office in 2020. Most of the Bronx, including the Black and brown voters who were key to his base, have disappeared, replaced by more Westchester County suburbs.
Bowman, who declined to be interviewed after his loss, has had other stumbles in recent years, including an incident in September when he was caught on video activating a fire alarm in a House building while lawmakers were working on a funding bill. He said the alarm went off accidentally when he tried to open a locked door while he was trying to vote, but Bowman has been criticized by his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
But none of these factors had as much impact, say his allies in Congress, as the nearly $15 million that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee-allied super PAC spent on the race, making it the most expensive House primary ever became, according to ad tracking company. AdImpact.
“I think all Democrats should be able to see how bad this is for Democratic politics, that there is a tremendous amount of money coming in to influence a congressional race in a Democratic primary,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapalchairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in an interview.
With the support of AIPAC and encouragement from local Jewish leaders to enter the race, Latimer succeeded in ousting not only one of the most liberal voices in Congress, but also one of Israel’s most outspoken critics. Bowman has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in military strikes since Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel.
AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC placed airwaves and mailboxes with negative ads targeting Bowman. He responded by accusing the pro-Israel group of trying to buy the race.
In a statement released on the primary, AIPAC said the message from voters was clear.
“The outcome of this race shows once again that the pro-Israel position is both good policy and good politics – for both parties,” the group said.
But Latimer said Bowman’s criticism of Israel was only part of the reason he decided to challenge the sitting president. He said the former high school principal had failed to pay attention to the district’s needs, had few relationships with leaders and was more interested in appearing on television than helping people.
During the campaign, Latimer, who served as a local and state official in Westchester County for three decades, said his knowledge of the region and its needs would make him an effective member of Congress. Latimer has said this is the kind of politics people expect from their elected officials, rather than caustic battles between the far right and the far left — a clear attack on Bowman.
Even Jayapal, who leads progressives on Capitol Hill and helps raise money for their political action committee, acknowledged the war’s impact on Bowman’s race.
“I think Jamaal has a much tougher district than a lot of other progressives because a lot of the district is extremely wealthy and very tied to certain views on Israel and the Middle East,” the Washington Democrat said. “And then he has a part of the neighborhood that is very, very different. And I think it’s true for every member that we need to pay attention to all parts of our district.”
The next incumbent who may be in danger among progressives is Rep. Cori Bush in Missouri. Bush, who like Bowman has been vocal about Israel’s bombing of Gaza, is facing a wave of spending against her by AIPAC in the August primaries for her St. Louis district.
Jayapal and other progressives insisted that Bowman’s loss would not have far-reaching consequences for Bush or other progressive Democrats. But even they admitted that Tuesday’s outcome put them on the defensive.
“The message to progressives is: stick to your values, but don’t make unnecessary mistakes that could get you singled out by right-wing billionaires looking to make an example of someone,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
