WASHINGTON — The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC announced Thursday that it was withdrawing its endorsement of former New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, who had backed Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Black Democrat from New York and a senior member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in the primary election due to Bowman’s criticism of Israel.
The progressive New York Working Families Party also withdrew its financial and organizational support for Jones on Thursday, saying his endorsement “strayed from the values and principles we proudly stood for in 2020.”
It’s an unusual move for the Progressive Caucus, which has generally sought a mass approach to growing its membership and has avoided strict ideological litmus tests, sometimes to the dismay of its left-leaning allies.
“Several factors led the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC to rescind its endorsement of Mondaire Jones,” said Evan Brown, the PAC’s executive director, adding that the move “was a unanimous decision of the PAC’s board of directors.”
The caucus’ campaign arm has poured money into Bowman’s race and last week launched an advertising campaign on his behalf, who sits on the CPC leadership as Labor’s vice chair.
Bowman is currently in a tough Democratic primary against Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, whose party has made Israel’s war on Gaza a central issue. Bowman has said that “American taxpayer money is being used to burn young children alive,” while Latimer has publicly declared his support for the Jewish state.
The June 25 primary is a key issue in the larger conflict between mainstream Democrats and the insurgent left, who are seeking to defend Bowman, who was elected in 2020 after defeating a 16-term, pro-Israel incumbent.
Jones was elected in 2020 amid a surge in progressive activists in the wake of the George Floyd shooting, campaigning on universal health care, a Green New Deal and defunding the police. He and a colleague elected that year became the first openly gay Black members of Congress in the city’s history.
Jones is currently seeking a second term in Congress after losing his reelection bid in 2022. He is the leading Democratic candidate facing Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who is considered one of the weakest Republicans in the country.
“I have no regrets about standing up for what I firmly believe in,” Jones said in a statement in response to the accusations from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “I have known and worked with George Latimer for many years.”
“Congressman Bowman and I have very different views on Israel,” Jones continued. “I am horrified by his recent acceptance of DSA’s endorsement, his denial that Hamas sexually assaulted an Israeli woman on October 7, and his rush to call for a ceasefire before Israel begins defending itself against the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.”
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) hinted at the move earlier this week, calling Jones’ decision to endorse a former colleague’s rival “appalling.”
“Honestly, I’m just really disgusted,” she told NBC News. “He’s a former colleague of his, a sitting member of Congress who is our top choice candidate, a sitting member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.”
Jayapal said he believes Jones endorsed Latimer because “clearly he thinks it’s politically expedient, but I don’t think so. That’s not how we behave as progressives.”
“We can’t have a conflict where we have a top incumbent that we’re putting our money behind and then one of our candidates is attacking him,” she continued, “so we firmly support Jamaal Bowman, we’re going to do everything in our power to help Jamaal win, and we hope to see Jamaal return to Congress.”
New York progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who, like Bowman, is a member of “The Squad,” called Jones’ endorsement of Latimer a “big disappointment.”
“This is in direct contradiction to the unity of the Democratic Party that we need to demonstrate if we are to win the House and the presidency in November,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview this week. “There is tremendous support for Bowman across the Democratic Party, from House leadership to Black members to progressive members.”
