Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., lost his contested primary election Tuesday to Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Bowman has served two terms since winning his first election during the summer of 2020… and since, he’s amassed a controversial record.
He was caught on video pulling the fire alarm in the Capitol. He found himself in a petty, personal screaming match with Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican. More recently, he’s become known for his inflammatory rhetoric against Israel.
Bowman has reflected on his loss — and said that his opponent’s Jewish donors brainwashed the Democratic voters.
“We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true,” he told a reporter.
Indeed, pro-Israel groups — like the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee — poured money into this race. AIPAC spent almost $15 million on attack ads against Bowman.
Still, Bowman took tons and tons of money from anti-Israel groups. He provided plenty of material for attack ads by denying reports of sexual assault by members of Hamas against Israeli women.
Brainwashed as they might be, Bowman was defeated by Democratic voters — not donors.
The polarizing Bowman squandered endorsements from well-known leftest like Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
After losing the primary, he dealt with gloating from Massie.
Take a look —
I’m going to miss our informal chitchats in the hallways.pic.twitter.com/3ZRKzkwIdo
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 26, 2024
Bowman conceding defeat tonight: "We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true."
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 26, 2024
Latimer, 70, has described Bowman’s anti-Israel fanaticism as only one motivation for a primary challenger. He said Bowman hasn’t been attentive to the district’s needs, maintained few relationships with its leaders, and was more interested in getting spots on cable news than in helping people.
“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,” Latimer told supporters during his victory speech in White Plains.
“We argue, we debate, we find a way to come together.”
Latimer looks very likely to win the general election in this heavily Democratic district.
Ultimately, Bowman has become one of the few incumbents to lose re-election in this year’s primaries.
Now, he’s dismissing his constituents’ sincerely held beliefs by describing them as brainwashed.
The progressive dream will never die.