George LatimerPro-Israel centrist defeats US Rep. Jamaal Bowman one on tuesday Democratic Primary in the suburban area New York This exposed deep differences within the party over the war in Gaza.
With the win, Latimer has ousted one of the most liberal voices in Congress and one of the most vocal critics of Israel. Bowman has accused Israel Accused of committing genocide in Gaza, where military strikes have killed thousands of Palestinians.
Latimer, who had entered the race at the urging of Jewish leaders and had received heavy financial support from Jewish leaders. American Israel Public Affairs Committeeis a former state legislator who has served as Westchester County Executive since 2018.
In a victory speech Latimer called for greater decorum after the controversial election.
“We have to fight to make sure that we don’t demonize each other, and we have to remember that we are all Americans, and our common future is intertwined,” he told supporters at an event in White Plains.
“We argue, we discuss, we find a way to come together,” he said, adding that it was the duty of all representatives to find ways to work across political divisions and prevent the country from falling apart.
Bowman was seeking his third term representing a district in New York City’s northern suburbs. His loss is a blow to the party’s progressive wing and a potential warning to candidates trying to shape their message around the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His defeat also disrupted a typically stable primary season for incumbent members of Congress. Most incumbent members of Congress have been able to fend off challenges from within their party, though GOP Rep. Bob Good is locked in a tight race with a rival backed by Donald Trump in what is expected to be a very close race.
“This movement has always been about justice. It’s always been about humanity. It’s always been about equality,” Bowman said at a campaign event in Yonkers. He acknowledged he lost the election but offered no regrets about his opposition to the war in Gaza.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee political action committee spent nearly $15 million on the primary election, flooding airwaves and mailboxes with negative ads in an effort to oust Bowman, who has accused the influential pro-Israel lobbying group of trying to buy the race.
“The results of this election once again demonstrate that a pro-Israel stance is good policy and good politics for both parties,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said in a statement.
Some prominent progressive figures have come to Bowman’s defense. In the final stages of the race, he rallied with moderate Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, while Latimer won the support of former presidential candidate and former New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
When it comes to Israel, both Bowman and Latimer support a two-state solution. Both have also condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people. But Bowman was one of the few progressives who voted down the House’s symbolic resolution in support of Israel after the Oct. 7 attack. Latimer strongly supports Israel and says negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas is a non-starter because he believes it is a terrorist group.
Bowman was first elected in 2020 after running as a moderate insurgent against moderate U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term congressman who chaired a House committee on foreign affairs. Bowman, 48, also adopted a political outsider strategy this year, depicting Latimer as a tool of Republican donors and pro-Israel groups.
Latimer said Bowman’s criticism of Israel was one of the reasons he decided to challenge the incumbent president. He said Bowman has been inattentive to the district’s needs, has maintained little relationship with its leaders and is more interested in getting spots on cable news than helping people.
During the campaign, Latimer, who has more than three decades of political experience, often touted his deep regional knowledge and contacts to prove he would be an effective member of Congress. Latimer has said that’s the kind of politics people expect from their elected officials, not a bitter battle between the far right and the far left — an apparent dig at Bowman.
In addition to his stance on Israel, Bowman faced criticism for an incident last year when he pulled a fire alarm in a House building while lawmakers were working on a funding bill. He said it was unintentional, with the alarm going off when he tried to open a locked door while attempting to vote. Bowman was censured by his colleagues in the House, and the incident received embarrassing news coverage.
The congressional district’s boundaries have changed since Bowman first won office in 2020, losing most of its territory in the Bronx and adding suburbs in Westchester County.
Today, 21% of its voting eligible population is Black and 42% is non-Hispanic white, according to U.S. Census data, while the district was 30% Black and 34% white as of 2022. Bowman is Black. Latimer is white.
As the election drew closer, Bowman focused on boosting voter turnout in what remained of the Bronx in his district, telling supporters there that the contest could depend on their votes. He spent much of his election day in the Bronx, and a video posted on the social media site X showed Bowman walking down a Bronx street on Tuesday with a drum line behind him.
Latimer, 70, would be the favorite to win the general election. The district, which includes parts of Westchester and a small portion of the Bronx, is a Democratic stronghold.
Nationally, Democratic Party leaders have emphasized moving toward centrist candidates who may perform better in suburban elections.
Also on Tuesday, Democratic voters on Long Island chose former CNN anchor John Avlon as the candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Nick LaLotta in a district that the GOP has controlled for a decade.
Avalon defeated retired chemistry professor Nancy Goroff in the Democratic primary. The Long Island congressional district has become a priority for Democrats as the party tries to flip suburban seats in New York as part of a strategy to regain a majority in the House.
But winning this seat in November could be an uphill battle for Democrats, as Democratic state lawmakers changed its boundaries during redistricting to make it slightly more favorable to Republicans in order to improve their chances in other districts.
In central New York, Democrats chose state Sen. John Manion as the party’s nominee to take on U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican who represents a recently redrawn congressional district where President Joe Biden beat Trump by 11 points in the 2020 election.
Manion defeated Sarah Cleary Hood, a city councilor from DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse.
In another contest, incumbent U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney fended off a primary challenge from Mario Fratto, a lawyer and businessman who lost to Tenney in the last primary for the safe Republican seat on the shores of Lake Ontario.
With the win, Latimer has ousted one of the most liberal voices in Congress and one of the most vocal critics of Israel. Bowman has accused Israel Accused of committing genocide in Gaza, where military strikes have killed thousands of Palestinians.
Latimer, who had entered the race at the urging of Jewish leaders and had received heavy financial support from Jewish leaders. American Israel Public Affairs Committeeis a former state legislator who has served as Westchester County Executive since 2018.
In a victory speech Latimer called for greater decorum after the controversial election.
“We have to fight to make sure that we don’t demonize each other, and we have to remember that we are all Americans, and our common future is intertwined,” he told supporters at an event in White Plains.
“We argue, we discuss, we find a way to come together,” he said, adding that it was the duty of all representatives to find ways to work across political divisions and prevent the country from falling apart.
Bowman was seeking his third term representing a district in New York City’s northern suburbs. His loss is a blow to the party’s progressive wing and a potential warning to candidates trying to shape their message around the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His defeat also disrupted a typically stable primary season for incumbent members of Congress. Most incumbent members of Congress have been able to fend off challenges from within their party, though GOP Rep. Bob Good is locked in a tight race with a rival backed by Donald Trump in what is expected to be a very close race.
“This movement has always been about justice. It’s always been about humanity. It’s always been about equality,” Bowman said at a campaign event in Yonkers. He acknowledged he lost the election but offered no regrets about his opposition to the war in Gaza.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee political action committee spent nearly $15 million on the primary election, flooding airwaves and mailboxes with negative ads in an effort to oust Bowman, who has accused the influential pro-Israel lobbying group of trying to buy the race.
“The results of this election once again demonstrate that a pro-Israel stance is good policy and good politics for both parties,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said in a statement.
Some prominent progressive figures have come to Bowman’s defense. In the final stages of the race, he rallied with moderate Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, while Latimer won the support of former presidential candidate and former New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
When it comes to Israel, both Bowman and Latimer support a two-state solution. Both have also condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people. But Bowman was one of the few progressives who voted down the House’s symbolic resolution in support of Israel after the Oct. 7 attack. Latimer strongly supports Israel and says negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas is a non-starter because he believes it is a terrorist group.
Bowman was first elected in 2020 after running as a moderate insurgent against moderate U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term congressman who chaired a House committee on foreign affairs. Bowman, 48, also adopted a political outsider strategy this year, depicting Latimer as a tool of Republican donors and pro-Israel groups.
Latimer said Bowman’s criticism of Israel was one of the reasons he decided to challenge the incumbent president. He said Bowman has been inattentive to the district’s needs, has maintained little relationship with its leaders and is more interested in getting spots on cable news than helping people.
During the campaign, Latimer, who has more than three decades of political experience, often touted his deep regional knowledge and contacts to prove he would be an effective member of Congress. Latimer has said that’s the kind of politics people expect from their elected officials, not a bitter battle between the far right and the far left — an apparent dig at Bowman.
In addition to his stance on Israel, Bowman faced criticism for an incident last year when he pulled a fire alarm in a House building while lawmakers were working on a funding bill. He said it was unintentional, with the alarm going off when he tried to open a locked door while attempting to vote. Bowman was censured by his colleagues in the House, and the incident received embarrassing news coverage.
The congressional district’s boundaries have changed since Bowman first won office in 2020, losing most of its territory in the Bronx and adding suburbs in Westchester County.
Today, 21% of its voting eligible population is Black and 42% is non-Hispanic white, according to U.S. Census data, while the district was 30% Black and 34% white as of 2022. Bowman is Black. Latimer is white.
As the election drew closer, Bowman focused on boosting voter turnout in what remained of the Bronx in his district, telling supporters there that the contest could depend on their votes. He spent much of his election day in the Bronx, and a video posted on the social media site X showed Bowman walking down a Bronx street on Tuesday with a drum line behind him.
Latimer, 70, would be the favorite to win the general election. The district, which includes parts of Westchester and a small portion of the Bronx, is a Democratic stronghold.
Nationally, Democratic Party leaders have emphasized moving toward centrist candidates who may perform better in suburban elections.
Also on Tuesday, Democratic voters on Long Island chose former CNN anchor John Avlon as the candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Nick LaLotta in a district that the GOP has controlled for a decade.
Avalon defeated retired chemistry professor Nancy Goroff in the Democratic primary. The Long Island congressional district has become a priority for Democrats as the party tries to flip suburban seats in New York as part of a strategy to regain a majority in the House.
But winning this seat in November could be an uphill battle for Democrats, as Democratic state lawmakers changed its boundaries during redistricting to make it slightly more favorable to Republicans in order to improve their chances in other districts.
In central New York, Democrats chose state Sen. John Manion as the party’s nominee to take on U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams, a Republican who represents a recently redrawn congressional district where President Joe Biden beat Trump by 11 points in the 2020 election.
Manion defeated Sarah Cleary Hood, a city councilor from DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse.
In another contest, incumbent U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney fended off a primary challenge from Mario Fratto, a lawyer and businessman who lost to Tenney in the last primary for the safe Republican seat on the shores of Lake Ontario.
