In New York’s most watched House primary election — the most expensive in US history — Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman became the first member of the ultra-progressive Squad to lose re-election. With 71% of ballots counted, his opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, won the Democratic Party’s nomination with 56% of the vote in New York’s 16th Congressional District, which encompasses low- and high- income neighbourhoods in the Bronx and Westchester County.
A former school principal who ousted 16-term veteran Eliot Engel in the 2020 primary, Bowman had some advantages heading into this election season, including incumbency and national name recognition. New York is a “closed primary” state, meaning that only registered Democrats were eligible to vote in yesterday’s contest. This electoral format tends to reduce political competition and reward those with a motivated base. In the heavily Democratic district, the victorious Latimer will enjoy a near-invincible advantage in November’s general election.
Bowman’s strident anti-Israel stance, including repeated accusations of genocide, spurred the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) to spend at least $14.5 million to unseat him. But Aipac’s ads didn’t directly criticise Bowman for his positions on Israel and Gaza. Instead, they characterised him as a radical opponent of President Joe Biden’s agenda on issues such as infrastructure spending and the debt ceiling.
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John Ketcham is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Photo by Steven Ferdman/GC Images
