Why Jamaal Bowman’s N.Y. primary race could have major ramifications for Democrats
Rep. Jamaal Bowman's Democratic primary in New York has drawn involvement from Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders — and record amounts of ad spending.
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — Bernie Sanders has lined up on one side of the race, Hillary Clinton on the other. A Democratic House primary in New York is in many ways a redux of the 2016 presidential primary — with much of the familiar vitriol.
Tuesday’s election between progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and centrist challenger George Latimer — which has attracted the most ad spending of any House primary in history — has re-exposed fault lines from that bitterly fought race eight years ago and highlighted the gaping divide in the Democratic Party over the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman, one of the fiercest critics of Israel in Congress, is fighting for his political life as he tries to fend off an onslaught of attack ads and win a third term. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC tied to the powerful pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), alone has poured nearly $15 million into ads to oust Bowman and elect Latimer, the Westchester County executive who has spent more than three decades in local politics.
That spending comes in a diverse district north of Manhattan that mixes urban and suburban areas and is home to one of the most significant Jewish American populations in the country.
As they crisscrossed New York’s 16th District in the final stretch of the race, Bowman and Latimer acknowledged that the Gaza war and record spending have made this a national race.
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