George Latimer defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, dealing a brutal blow to progressives in the most divisive election of this Democratic primary season, Decision Desk Headquarters predicts.
Latimer, the Westchester County Executive, defeated Bowman in a fierce contest that became a proxy war between different ideological factions of the Democratic Party. The key issue dividing the two candidates was their stance on Israel amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Millions of dollars were spent from inside and outside the district, making it the most expensive House primary in history. Leaders on both sides of the party spoke out, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Jersey) endorsing the moderate Latimer, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsing Bowman.
Bowman became a member of “The Squad,” a group of the House’s most progressive Democrats, after being elected to the House in 2020. He was first elected after successfully challenging then-Rep. Eliot Engel (D), a moderate, longtime incumbent, in a primary election.
The fight with Latimer exposed divisions within the Democratic Party, which became even more pronounced after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 left some 1,200 people dead. The death toll in Gaza has continued to rise since Israel launched a counterattack, putting the death toll at more than 35,000, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry, and deepening the conflict.
Latimer has made Bowman’s comments and votes on the conflict a central part of his campaign, criticizing her for calling for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and for opposing additional arms sales to Israel.
Latimer also slammed comments made by incumbent Bowman in November, calling reports that Hamas had committed rape and other sexual violence on Oct. 7 “lies” and “propaganda.” Bowman later retracted those comments and apologized last week, saying she voted to condemn the sexual violence that occurred after the United Nations presented additional evidence that it occurred.
But Latimer’s supporters used Bowman’s comments about sexual assault in a voter mailing to attack him.
Some Democrats exposed divisions within their party over the war throughout the presidential primary, with a relatively small but significant percentage of voters choosing the “indifferent” option rather than voting for President Biden in protest at the administration’s handling of the war.
But this was the most explicit showdown yet between factions within the party.
The rivalry between Latimer and Bowman became heated at times, especially during the few debates they held.
Latimer argued that Bowman’s comments undermined Israel’s right to self-defense and life, and accused him of ignoring Asian, non-Black and brown voters. Bowman, in turn, accused Latimer of using a “racist dog whistle” when he said Bowman’s “district” is Dearborn, Michigan, a majority Arab-American area represented by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), another Squad member and a vocal critic of Israel.
Both denied the allegations.
District 16 is a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, but it also has Arab-American residents.
Polls before the primary suggested Bowman was very likely to lose; one poll earlier this month showed Latimer leading Bowman by 17 points.
Bowman’s loss made him the first sitting Democrat in the House to lose a primary this election cycle, while Latimer is all but certain to win a House seat in a Democratic-heavy district in November.
