Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman became the first member of The Squad to be expelled from Congress after a crushing loss in his New York primary.
Support from fellow progressive Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez couldn’t save Bowman, who sounded the fire alarm, while her opponent George Latimer, 70, secured a convincing victory Tuesday night.
His rally in the Bronx over the weekend, which was mocked for his WWE-style entrances and foul-mouthed, profanity-laced speeches, appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for Bowman’s bid for a third term. .
The race in New York’s 16th Congressional District was the most expensive primary in history, with the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee spending $15 million on a campaign against Bowman.
Bowman came under attack for his anti-Israel views and strong support for Palestinians following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
He was one of the first to demand a ceasefire and has flirted with conspiracies about Israel, leading some within his own party to accuse him of anti-Semitism.
Voters also would not have forgotten that he pleaded guilty to setting off a fire alarm in Congress because he was late for the vote.
The future of the hardcore progressive squad is now on shaky ground, and Bowman’s performance does not bode well for Democrats who publicly oppose Israel.
Latimer is a former state lawmaker who has served as Westchester County executive since 2018. He is the favorite to win in November in the Democratic stronghold.
Bowman’s district is part wealthy, white and Jewish Westchester and part black and brown voters in the Bronx.
“Jamaal Bowman should pull the fire alarm again because (Latimer) is going to smoke it today,” former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, wrote in X.
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman is fighting for his political survival as voters head to the polls in New York for the Democratic primary. He campaigned with fellow squad members, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, in Mount Vernon on Monday.
‘The message is clear: anti-Semitism in any form will not be tolerated in New York. And you can’t call yourself progressive without progressing.”
‘Let’s show fucking AIPAC the power of the fucking South Bronx!’ Bowman shouted Saturday at a rally with fellow progressive ‘Squad’ member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The former director who once pulled the fire alarm at the Capitol during votes lost the support of at least one colleague: Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., endorsed Latimer on Monday.
Bowman is the first ‘Squad’ member to be ousted, putting the future of the hardcore progressive faction on shaky ground.
In a final debate with Latimer on Tuesday, Bowman, 48 and black, attacked Latimer for his close ties to AIPAC and claimed he had delayed desegregation as Westchester County executive.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also joined the race on Latimer’s side, as has former Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., a progressive and fellow Congressional Black Caucus member.
Jones was angered by Bowman for his criticism of Israel. He is expected to win a Democratic nomination.
In a final debate with Latimer on Tuesday, Bowman, 48, who is black, attacked Latimer for his close ties to AIPAC and claimed that he had walked slowly toward desegregation as Westchester County executive.
“He claims to be a Democrat, but he has the support of racist MAGA Republicans who support taking away his right to vote, gutting his right to an abortion,” Bowman said.
“This is an example of race being used as a weapon,” Latimer responded. “What we need to do is bring people together.”
Last week, Bowman came under fire for a new report that claimed he asked a Jewish leader to send him photos of them together to prove he has Jewish friends.
A private text between Bowman and an unnamed Jewish leader from when Bowman first ran for re-election in 2022 was published by Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
‘Do you have photos of us? “This way I can show the world that I am a friend of the Jewish people,” Bowman wrote, according to the report.
The leader did have a photo with Bowman, but did not share it with the congressman.
“I felt uncomfortable,” the Jewish leader said of the awkward message. ‘I kind of joked with him about that. I said, ‘Oh, I’m sure you guys have it.’ Don’t worry about that.’
“I thought, ‘I don’t want to be their court Jew,'” he said. “That’s not what I signed up for.”