UPDATE: George Latimer defeated Jamaal Bowman in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for House of Representatives.
Tuesday’s primary for New York’s 16th congressional district pits Westchester County Mayor George Latimer against Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of the House’s progressive “squad.” All the talk is about campaign gaffes and fundraising. But in this case, it should be about the merits of the candidates.
We’ve heard a lot about the massive funding for Latimer, especially from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. The question Bowman supporters ask aloud is, “Why would a foreign government provide so much money to a local congressional candidate?” The unspoken question is, “Why are Jews funding this candidate?”
We also heard stories of Bowman being mocked for rallying in the South Bronx, a city he doesn’t represent. On stage, he proudly swore in a way unbecoming of a public servant. He also played a schoolyard prank in the halls of the Legislature, setting off a fire alarm to delay a bill and then lying about it.
But let’s put aside money and manners, as well as the Gaza war, where the candidates differ most. (Latimer holds centrist views that broadly support Biden’s policies, while Bowman has a strong pro-Palestinian stance.)
The election is about substantive issues related to the 16th Congressional District, which has been redrawn twice since Bowman’s victory in 2020 to include less of the Bronx and more of Westchester County. Elected to a vastly different district, Bowman no longer represents the interests of his district.
He voted against the infrastructure bill, one of the Biden administration’s key bipartisan achievements and a key partisan vote for Biden’s reelection. By contrast, Latimer has been successful in flipping Republican-majority districts to the Democrats, and he supports abortion rights, gun control and other domestic issues that align with his district.
The election also poses the future of the Democratic Party, pitting the party’s centrist vision, recently made evident by the election of Tom Suozzi in Nassau County, against its progressive extremists. Most notably, Hillary Clinton, a moderate Democrat who lives in Westchester, has endorsed Latimer. This week, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, co-chair of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus, also endorsed Latimer.
Bowman has proven to be an incompatible fit with the district and would be a loss for the Democrats if re-elected. Just as importantly, based on his record, Jamaal Bowman does not deserve to be re-elected.
