Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), who conceded the June 25th Democratic Primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, used every last moment right up to poll closure on Election Day to campaign in efforts to retain his seat but it was not enough.

 

The progressive Democrat, a former teacher who first won his NY-16 seat in 2020 amid the heightened tensions of the Black Lives Matter protests over police brutality, conceded on Election Night in one of the most closely watched and expensive congressional primaries in the history of the country, according to various media reports.

 

“This race was never about me and me alone,” Bowman told his supporters later on Election Night. “It was never about this district and this district alone. It was always about all of us,” he added, alluding to the race that both Republicans and Democrats view as a litmus test for the future direction of the Democratic Party. The latter is clearly divided over various hot-button issues, not least of which is U.S. military support for Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.

 

Speaking to voters and the media earlier on Election Day one block from the Edenwald Community Center polling site located on East 229th Street in Edenwald, and wearing a T-shirt which read, “Showing Up for Racial Justice,” Bowman arrived at the polling center an hour late, frustrating some members of the media, while some voters who had also gathered to meet with him had already left.

 

The congressman told the small crowd, “Everybody get out the vote; that’s the number one thing. We get out the vote in big numbers, we don’t just win, we win big, so we’ve got to show that the many can beat the money every time.”

 

He continued, “They’re trying to buy this seat from the people, which is crazy, all because I called for peace, all because I called for a ceasefire, all because I called for an end to the genocide.” His remarks were in reference to repeated calls by progressives for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war which, since Oct. 7, 2023, has cost the lives of 37,718 Israelis and Palestinians, according to the latest reporting from Al Jazeera, and has resulted in 86,377 wounded.

 

It follows the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by the terrorist group, Hamas, in which around 1,200 Jewish civilians were killed, and several others were assaulted and kidnapped, including some children and seniors. Some have since been released. Meanwhile, moderates continue to repeat the refrain of Israel’s right to defend itself amid ongoing criticism over the scale of that response in the context of the Palestinian death count since Oct. 7, 2023.

 

Israel was charged with genocide via the International Court of Justice on Dec. 29 due to the Israeli Defense Forces’ unrelenting bombing campaign in Gaza.  Bowman continued, “You call for an end to the genocide and they come after you; that’s crazy! Here, we’re calling for justice reform. Here, we’re calling for housing reform as a human right, healthcare as a human right, fully funding our public schools, workforce development, dealing with the issue of opioids and addiction, dealing with mental health.”

 

Many Americans have called on the U.S. government to allocate the money that is being spent to support Israel’s military campaign in Gaza on schools, hospitals and other underfunded services.

 

As reported, in the months and weeks leading up to the primary, Bowman was reportedly being outspent in terms of campaign financing 10-1 by Latimer, who had the backing of the powerful AIPAC Super Pac. According to some sources, including Sanders, Latimer has received over $14 million in campaign donations from AIPAC’s super PAC in efforts to unseat the congressman and former teacher who was first elected to Congress in 2020.

 

AIPAC stands for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its mission, according to the organization, is a Zionist lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States.

 

Zionism has been described either as a form of ethnic nationalism according to P.Y. Medding’s  Studies in Contemporary Jewry: XI: Values, Interests, and Identity: Jews and Politics in a Changing World, or as a form of ethno-cultural nationalism with civic nationalist components, according to Chaim Gans’ A Just Zionism: On the Morality of the Jewish State.

 

Back in Edenwald on Election Day, the congressman, who represents parts of the north Bronx and Westchester, later immediately got down to business, greeting the remaining residents who had waited outside of the Susan E. Wagner Preschool, where young female members of the ‘Ice Cold Experience’ Drumline, a marching band from Mount Vernon, N.Y., had also been waiting to catch sight of their legislator.

One young male resident greeted Bowman, asking, “You ‘bout to change the ‘hood and make it better for us?” Bowman replied, “That’s what I’m trying to do.” An elderly woman shouted, “You have my vote, congressman!” Bowman replied, “Thank you very much!”

 

In reference to his calls for justice and equity, Bowman continued, “That’s my record. That’s my career. That’s what I was doing in education before we even got to Congress and now, we’re in Congress doing the same thing.” Referring to Latimer, without mentioning him by name, he said, “He wants to spend a record amount of money against the first Black man in history to be in this seat.” [According to Wikipedia, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was a mixed race legislator from Harlem who represented NY-16 in Congress from 1953–1963, though the district lines for NY-16 have most likely changed since that time.]

 

Bowman then said, “It’s all good because we’ve got the people. They’ve got the money; we’ve got the many. They’ve got the so-called power,” Bowman continued. “We’ve got the people, and they think this is only about a congressional seat. This is bigger than that. People are watching all over the world to see what’s happening to the United States and its democracy.”

 

The congressman then asked, “Are we going to allow our democracy to be bought by oligarchs, by billionaires?” Alluding to red donations to Latimer’s campaign, he added, “Republican billionaires meddling in a Democratic Primary? The world is watching this and if it goes down the way they want it to go down, our credibility is shot in terms of democracy.”

Bowman concluded, “This is not about Jamaal Bowman and one congressional seat; this is about the future of democracy, and this is about humanity.”

 

He then joined the marching band as he led them through the New York City Housing Authority’s Edenwald Houses, greeting residents and shaking hands along the way as he urged them to vote. At 8.30 p.m., he posted on social media, “We got 30 min left y’all! Find your voting location now!”

 

Regarded as a so-called “Squad” member and congressional ally of Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Bowman saw strong support (83 percent of the vote) on Election Night in The Bronx portion of his district, but trailed Latimer overall after poll closure with 40.14 percent to Latimer’s 59, based on unofficial results.

Latimer later declared victory, tweeting, “As a working-class kid in Mt Vernon, I watched my parents strive to give me the best life possible. When I graduated high school on Memorial Field, my mom cried. She never dreamed I would be here, but tonight, the voters spoke and I’m proud to be your Democratic Nominee for #NY16.”

 

He added, “I grew up walking across town to get to the pool because I couldn’t afford bus fare. I was the first in my family to graduate high school. I worked in Mount Vernon’s Section 8 office. Every day, I wake up ready to do the hard work of improving these communities that raised me.”

 

Latimer continued, “While this race garnered a lot of headlines, tomorrow we turn a new page. We must come together, united to defend our Democratic values from MAGA extremism. We will work together to defeat Trump and re-elect Biden. We will work together to take back the House. And we will work together to deliver #RealResultsNotRhetoric.”

 

The disappointment of Bowman’s loss sinking in, already on Election Night, one constituent proposed still voting for him as a write-in candidate in the general election, a terrifying prospect for Democrats wishing to keep the NY-16 seat blue.

 

Meanwhile, one NY-16 constituent, Mary Shaughnessy, told Norwood News after Election Day that a group of Bronx voters (4400 blocks) was reportedly told by NYC Board of Elections (BOE) there was no primary in their area. Shaughnessy said she was informed by a representative from Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) that the BOE was using congressional maps due to take effect in January 2025. Meanwhile, she said Bowman’s website was still using the old district lines. Norwood News has reached out to the referenced parties for comment.

 

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), who reportedly won her own primary based on the Board of Elections’ unofficial results on Election Night, had been scheduled to join Bowman in Edenwald on Election Day but was a no show in the end. As reported, the two had campaigned at a rally in the South Bronx on Saturday, June 22, together with independent Sanders, who represents Vermont, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), who represents parts of Brooklyn, and unions, Teamsters Local 202,  1199 / SEIU, and the New York State Nurses Association.

Ocasio-Cortez led with 81% of the vote after poll closure on Election Night, and declared victory over her challenger Marty Dolan, writing, “Wall Street came for us again, and the people prevailed. Thank you to the Bronx and Queens for choosing me to be your Congresswoman. It is the honor of my life to fight for working families and everyday people. To receive this level of support is deeply moving. Pa’lante [Onwards].”

 

Neither Bowman nor Ocasio-Cortez accepts corporate donations. In the months leading up to the primary, Bowman was reportedly outspent 10-1 by Latimer, who had the backing of the powerful AIPAC Super Pac. According to independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who campaigned in The Bronx for Bowman with Ocasio-Cortez on June 22, Latimer received over $14 million in campaign donations from AIPAC.

 

Seemingly in reference to donors, Bowman continued later on Election Night, “Now, our opponents — not opponent — may have won this round, at this time, in this place, but this will be a battle for our humanity and justice for the rest of our lives.”

 

On June 26, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “@JamaalBowman. Son of a single mother. Grew up in public housing. Dedicated his life to teaching. Became a school principal. Founded a prized school to serve Bronx youth. Elected as the 1st Black Congressman for NY16. Never took a dime in corporate money. A true public servant.” The congresswoman tagged an incorrect X account for the congressman however who goes under a different account, JamaalBowanNY, for campaign purposes.

Meanwhile, Bowman’s nemesis, MAGA Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) relished in the congressman’s defeat on social media, and vowed to take legal action against him for previously setting off a fire alarm in the U.S. Capitol, allegedly to stall a congressional vote in 2023. A House majority comprising mostly Republicans, along with few Democrats, voted in December to punish Bowman for triggering the fire alarm.

 

Back in The Bronx, Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a former Democratic Bronx city councilman who recently campaigned in The Bronx with former Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, posted on X of Bowman’s loss on June 26, “The strategy of keeping @AOC, money and Troops, busy in her District and not being able to send them to help @RepBowman payed [sic] out big time. One down still more to come. @ErickSalgadoNYC @LattinaBrown @OswaldDenis5 @cafecitobreak @CurtisSliwa @SquarePegDem  @JCats2013 @fud31 and [sic].”

 

To read more of our election coverage, including some recent op-eds, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.