The Democratic left suffered a major rebuff Tuesday during a primary held in a New York constituency. Representative Jamaal Bowman, elected in 2020 in the wake of protests against the murder of George Floyd, became the first member of the “Squad”, which brings together the most progressive elected officials in the House of Representatives, to suffer an electoral defeat. He lost to George Latimer, a moderate Democrat, after a campaign in which the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC spent a record $14.5 million to ensure his defeat.
This money allowed AIPAC to flood New York television with ads recalling in particular Bowman’s refusal to vote in favor of Joe Biden’s historic infrastructure project as well as his opposition to a bipartisan agreement to avoid a default of payment. But Bowman, a former school principal, likely would have lost without the money. He represents a district where 10% of the territory is in the Bronx and the rest in the northern suburbs of New York, which has many Jewish or moderate voters. In particular, he alienated the Jewish community by accusing Israel of committing a “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, an accusation that his New York colleague from the “Squad”, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, or independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, would never have formulated.
Nonetheless, AOC and Sanders attended one of Bowman’s final rallies, held in the South Bronx, a neighborhood that is several miles from the representative’s district. I quote in the text one of his statements: « We are gonna show fucking AIPAC the power of the motherfucking South Bronx. »
Richie Torres, the Democratic representative from this part of the Bronx (and Israel supporter), wrote on X that his colleague’s speech was “unworthy of a member of Congress”:
Latimer, the Westchester County executive, won 58.4 percent of the vote to Bowman’s 41.6 percent. Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush could be the next member of the Squad to fall in a primary scheduled for Aug. 6.
The other primary which caught the attention of the American media on Tuesday turned out better for a star of the Republican right. After fleeing the district where she came close to losing in November 2022, the Republican representative from Colorado won a primary in a more hospitable district where she parachuted.
(Photo Bronx Times)
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