Jamal Bowman's defeat might prove to be bad news for Biden.
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I’m a New Yorker now.
I don’t live in Congressman Jamal Bowman’s district, but if I did he would have had my vote in last night’s primary election in the NY 16th.
Still Bowman lost by 17 points to establishment challenger, Democrat George Latimer.
Local and national coverage focused on how Bowman’s loss was a defeat for Left Democrats (which it was) and how Bowman was the first loss in Congress of members of the progressive Squad.
Bowman’s loss was not unanticipated. His courageous opposition to the genocide in Gaza made him a target of pro-Israel lobby groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which spent $14 million to defeat Bowman.
Millions of dollars were channeled to Latimer through AIPAC from Republican donors.
But to pin Bowman’s loss on AIPAC and the Israel lobby alone is to miss the dynamic that has played out since the emergence of The Squad and an activist Left in Congress.
By the way, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was overwhelmingly renominated in the Democratic primary last night with over 82% of the vote.
During the campaign Bowman rallied with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, while Latimer pulled in the endorsement of former presidential candidate and former New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
Clinton was not the only corporate Democrat who worked to defeat Bowman although she was the most visible.
Since even before the election of Joe Biden, corporate Democrats and the Democratic National Committee have waged a war on the Left in the Party and on those like Jamal Bowman.
Many times it would seem as if some Democratic centrists would rather see a MAGA elected than a Left Democrat.
However, I think their success in defeating Bowman may backfire on the DNC and on Joe Biden who has struggled to win the youth vote and Black support.
Those groups supported Bowman.
Of course Latimer got most of his votes from the areas newly redistricted into the 16th New York congressional district.
The current 16th district now contains the wealthier and whiter areas of White Plains, Scarsdale and Rye in addition to the traditional area of the 16th in the northern Bronx.
More than 2300 Westchester County voters changed their registrations to Democratic for the primary.
I’m thinking Bowman’s defeat may end up being another Democratic gift to Trump.