Progressive Jamaal Bowman Loses Seat After Pro-Israel Lobby Boosted Opponent
Progressive Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman has been ousted from his New York Congressional seat after a contentious primary soaked in special interest money.
Democratic Westchester County Executive George Latimer secured the first victory in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) $100 million effort to oust progressive lawmakers critical of Israel’s ongoing military siege against Palestinians in Gaza. The Associated Press called the race just before 9:45 p.m. E.T.
The race between Bowman and Latimer was the most expensive in the history of the House of Representatives, with AIPAC pouring $14 million into New York’s 16th Congressional District. The candidates and their backers spent a combined total of $23 million on advertising alone.
Bowman felt that he wasn’t running a race against Latimer, but rather battling against powerful interest groups seeking to oust him and his closest colleagues over their criticism of Israel. The congressman recently told Rolling Stone that “this race against AIPAC is a really good litmus test as it relates to that, because [they’re] a big-money lobby [that’s] spending more money in this race than has ever been spent in primary history. They’re doing that because they do not want a progressive agenda to move forward.”
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel, Bowman was one of the first and most vocal advocates in Congress for a permanent ceasefire. The congressman drew widespread criticism for casting doubt on reports of mass beheadings of infants by Hamas and the alleged systematic rape of Israeli women during the Oct. 7 attacks as Israeli “propaganda.” While Bowman later said that he “regretted” the statements, the sourcing behind the claims remains dubious.
The death toll in Gaza has reportedly surpassed 37,000 — including scores of women, children, and other noncombatants — and the region continues to be plagued by a shortage of food and humanitarian aid. “AIPAC is pro-one-state solution,” Bowman told Rolling Stone. “Our position is a two-state solution where Palestinians and Israelis live side-by-side in their respective states, where they have self-determination, where they’re safe, and where they have peace.”
Bowman is just the first test of AIPAC’s strength in this election cycle — other targets on their roster include progressive Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian-American member of Congress. Beyond their opposition to continued, unquestioned aid to Israel, the list of targets represents some of the most prominent voices in government agitating for systemic change in a political system mired in partisan gridlock.
Bowman, along with other members of the progressive caucus has supported legislation such as the Green New Deal, increased taxation on the profits of major corporations, and criminal justice reform. “The Democratic Party is supposed to be a big-time party accepting of all people, and sometimes my more conservative colleagues push back against that. It’s their job to push back. It’s our job to make sure that we express our collective numbers as it relates to a particular issue,” he previously told Rolling Stone. “The majority of Americans support universal health care, they support affordable housing, they support universal childcare and paid leave, in-home care, and they support all the things we’re fighting for. So we are aligned to the people, and the conservatives are aligned to profit, and that’s just the way that is.”
But for all his progressive credentials, the recent string of controversies dodging Bowman provided fuel for Latimer, and his well funded backers.
Last fall, Bowman was charged with and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after pulling a fire alarm in a Cannon House office building when there was no fire. The incident took place as the House debated measures to avoid a government shutdown, leading to accusations that Bowman had pulled the alarm in order to delay proceedings on the floor. In December, the House voted to censure Bowman in a 214-191-5 vote.
In January, old blog posts unearthed by The Daily Beast revealed that Bowman had entertained conspiracies about 9/11 before pursuing a career in politics. Bowman has since stated that he does not continue to hold those beliefs, and has since fought to combat dangerous conspiracies as a lawmaker.
The recent spat of controversies was a boon to Latimer’s campaign, which had been locked in an intense — often ugly — battle with Bowman for months. Last week, Latimer went so far as to say that while he expected Bowman to win at least 40 percent of the vote in the district, it would be because the congressman had an “obvious ethnic benefit.” In their last debate before the primary, Bowman accused Latimer’s campaign of mailing out flyers with images of him that significantly darkened his complexion.
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