Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) lost his primary on Tuesday in a stinging setback for House progressives after a coalition of establishment Democrats and pro-Israel groups aligned to defeat him.
The Associated Press called the race for Westchester County Executive George Latimer at 9:38 p.m., over half an hour after the polls closed. Latimer defeated Bowman in New York’s 16th Congressional District 54.8% to 45.2% with 51% of votes counted.
Bowman had been trailing Latimer in the polls, but his loss represents a high-profile rebuke of Congress’s most progressive members, whose anti-Israel views have set them at odds with the mainstream of the Democratic Party. The 16th District is a solidly Democratic seat, meaning that Latimer will be favored to win the general election in November.
Bowman has attracted controversy since arriving in Congress in 2021. He has opposed resolutions condemning Hamas for its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, while he called the idea that Israeli women were raped in the massacre “propaganda.”
Allies such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) rallied behind him in the days leading up to the New York primary, but a spate of local and national figures came out against his reelection bid in his New York district, home to a large Jewish population.
In one notable defection, fellow progressive and former Rep. Mondaire Jones endorsed Latimer over the incumbent. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also endorsed Latimer, drawing the ire of House progressives as well.
The primary race shattered records, particularly after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of the largest pro-Israel lobbying groups, and an affiliated group poured millions into defeating Bowman. Outside spending in the 16th District primary topped $20 million.
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AIPAC is spending large sums this election cycle in a bid to oust a small but vocal crop of House lawmakers whose anti-Israel views have been denounced by Republicans as Israel wages a war against Hamas in Gaza.
The group has also directed funds at ousting members including Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), another Israel critic, ahead of the August primary in her St. Louis-area district.
