George Latimer, a centrist who supports Israel, replaced Jamaal Bowman, the most liberal voice in Congress.
In a Democratic primary in suburban New York on Tuesday, pro-Israel centrist George Latimer defeated U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, highlighting the party’s deep divisions over the Gaza War.
With the win, Latimer has silenced one of Congress’s most liberal voices and a vocal opponent of Israel. Bowman has charged Israel with genocide in Gaza, citing thousands of Palestinian deaths from Israeli military actions.
A former state legislator, Latimer has been the executive of Westchester County since 2018. Jewish leaders encouraged her to enter the race, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee provided significant financial support.
Latimer’s Winning Speech
Following the divisive election, Latimer demanded greater civility in a victory speech.
At a White Plains event, he addressed supporters, saying, “We have to fight to make sure we don’t vilify each other and we remember that we’re all Americans, and our common future is bound together.”
“We argue, we debate, we find a way to come together,” he stated, emphasizing that it was the responsibility of all elected officials to find ways to bridge political differences and keep the nation from falling apart.
Bowman, who represents a district in the northern suburbs of New York City, was running for a third term. His loss is a setback for the progressive wing of the party and might serve as a lesson for other candidates attempting to center their platforms around the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Additionally, his defeat upended what has historically been a steady primary season for incumbents in Congress. The majority of sitting members of Congress have successfully fended off challenges from members of their own party, but Republican Rep. Bob Good is locked in a close race with a rival supported by Donald Trump.
“Justice has always been at the center of this movement. Humanity has always been the focus. At his Yonkers election party, Bowman acknowledged that he had lost the contest but remained unrepentant about his opposition to the Gaza War. “It has always been about equality,” he said.
Nearly $15 million was spent on the primary by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political action committee, which flooded mailboxes and television screens with negative advertisements aimed at unseating Bowman. Bowman has accused the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group of attempting to influence the election.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee released a statement saying, “The outcome in this race once again shows that the pro-Israel position is good policy and good politics — for both parties.”
Leading progressives have hurried to support Bowman. During the last leg of the contest, he held rallies alongside progressive lawmakers Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, while Latimer secured the support of Hillary Clinton, a former US senator from New York and presidential candidate.
Regarding Israel, Bowman and Latimer agree that there should be two states. Additionally, they both denounced the 1,200-person Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7. However, Bowman was among the handful of progressives who disapproved of a symbolic House resolution endorsing Israel in the wake of the attack on October 7. Latimer is an ardent supporter of Israel and stated that he thinks it is impossible to negotiate a cease-fire with Hamas because it is a terrorist organization.
In 2020, Bowman emerged victorious as a liberal insurgent against Representative Eliot Engel, a moderate who served 16 terms in Congress and served as the head of a House committee on foreign affairs. This year, Bowman, 48, adopted the political outsider tactic as well, portraying Latimer as an instrument of pro-Israel organizations and Republican funders.
Latimer stated that Bowman’s decision to challenge the incumbent was motivated in part by his criticism of Israel. He claimed that Bowman hasn’t paid attention to the district’s needs, hasn’t kept up many relationships with its officials, and is more concerned with landing spots on cable news than he is with assisting the public.
With over thirty years of political experience, Latimer frequently used his extensive local knowledge and connections to demonstrate throughout the campaign why he would be a valuable member of Congress. In a clear jab at Bowman, Latimer stated that’s the kind of politics people expect from their elected officials, as opposed to bitter battles between the extremes of the right and left.
In addition to his views on Israel, Bowman has faced ongoing criticism for his actions from the previous year, when he set off a fire alarm in a House building while members were debating a funding bill. He claimed that it happened accidentally when he attempted to open a locked door while casting his ballot. Bowman received a scolding from his House colleagues, and the incident made for awkward press coverage.
Since Bowman took office in 2020, the boundaries of the congressional district have changed, adding more Westchester County suburbs and losing most of its Bronx sections.
According to U.S. Census data, the district’s voting-age population is now 21% Black and 42% non-Hispanic White, compared to 30% Black and 34% White in the district’s pre-2022 demographic. Bowman is African American. Latimer has white skin.
As the election drew near, Bowman concentrated on increasing voter turnout in the Bronx neighborhoods that still fell within his district, warning supporters that the race might depend on their votes. In addition, Bowman spent the majority of his election day in the Bronx. On Tuesday, a video of him strolling down a Bronx street with a drum line behind him was uploaded to the social media platform X.
The 70-year-old Latimer is going to be the overwhelming favorite in the general election. The district is a Democratic stronghold that includes a small portion of the Bronx and portions of Westchester.
Leaders of the Democratic Party across the country have stressed the need to support centrist candidates who could perform better in suburban elections.
Additionally on Tuesday, Long Island Democratic voters selected former CNN anchor John Avlon to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Nick LaLota in a district that has been under GOP control for ten years.
In the Democratic primary, Avlon overcame Nancy Goroff, a retired chemistry professor. Democrats now see the Long Island congressional district as crucial to their efforts to flip suburban New York seats and gain a majority in the House.
Nevertheless, Democratic state lawmakers altered the seat’s boundaries during redistricting to make it marginally more Republican-friendly in an effort to boost their chances in other districts, so winning the seat in November may be a difficult task for them.
Democrats selected state senator John Mannion of central New York to challenge Republican U.S. Representative Brandon Williams, who represents a newly redrawn congressional district in which President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by a margin of eleven points in the 2020 election.
Sarah Klee Hood, a town councilor in the Dewitt suburb of Syracuse, was defeated by Mannion.
In a different contest, Mario Fratto, an attorney and businessman who had lost to Tenney in the previous primary election, attempted to unseat incumbent U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney in the safely Republican seat situated along Lake Ontario.