MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. \u2014 A volunteer for Rep. Jamaal Bowman\u2019s campaign trailed George Latimer out of a Juneteenth event last week, asking the Westchester County executive, who\u2019s challenging Bowman in a primary Tuesday, whether he was getting his \u201cracist talking points\u201d from \u201cMAGA donors,\u201d or whether he had come up with them himself.<\/p>\n
Latimer, who is White, ignored the provocation and instead turned to a group of Black boys who ran up to shake his hand and take pictures. \u201cI never knew you were so racist,\u201d the Bowman volunteer continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in Mount Vernon,\u201d Latimer replied, referring to this majority Black city. \u201cIn 25 years the racism would have showed by now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brief exchange demonstrated the tensions that have engulfed this primary \u2014 and the Democratic Party \u2014 as Bowman and Latimer have battled for the Democratic nomination to represent New York\u2019s 16th District in Congress.<\/p>\n
Latimer, who repeatedly won the support of local lefties and African Americans over a decades-long political career in this area, is suddenly the target of some of his former fans\u2019 ire. He has faced backlash for his steadfast support for Israel and for challenging Bowman, the district\u2019s first Black congressman, in a fiercely fought contest that has become the most expensive House primary in American history, according to AdImpact, which tracks television and digital ad spending.<\/p>\n
The bitter primary match has exposed the deepest fissures in the Democratic Party. It has highlighted the party\u2019s split over the war in the Middle East, with pro-Israel groups spending millions to unseat Bowman, whom they view as antagonistic toward the Jewish state. It has raised issues of race and racism, with Bowman and his allies characterizing some of Latimer\u2019s comments as racist and arguing that he is unable to understand the plight of poorer Black constituents because he is backed by wealthy donors. And it is yet another fierce battle between the mainstream wing of the party and the left, with Hillary Clinton endorsing Latimer and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) hosting rallies for Bowman in the Bronx.<\/p>\n
Evan Roth Smith, a Democratic consultant and pollster in New York who is not working with either campaign, said Latimer appears to be in the stronger position heading into the final days of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cLatimer is on the march, he\u2019s on offense, he doesn\u2019t seem worried about people turning out for him,\u201d Roth Smith said. \u201cAll the noise, the spending aside, the simple math of who looks more confident in their base of voters turning out for them, Latimer looks more confident, looks more assured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bowman, a member of the \u201cSquad\u201d of far-left Democratic lawmakers of color, has cut a provocative profile during his short tenure in Congress. Last year, he screamed at a Republican congressman over gun violence, yelling, \u201cCalm down? Children are dying!\u201d Months later, he pulled a fire alarm in a U.S. House office building, forcing an evacuation that led the House to formally censure him. Authorities charged him with a misdemeanor; he pleaded guilty and had to pay a fine of $1,000. After the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, Bowman called for a cease-fire, a position that has become more mainstream months into Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza. But Bowman was well ahead of most Democrats on the issue. Many of them, including Latimer, said his immediate call for a cease-fire was insensitive to his Jewish constituents.<\/p>\n
Bowman first won here four years ago, ousting longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot L. Engel, a fierce defender of Israel with a powerful perch as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Bowman, who before joining Congress was a high school principal in the Bronx, successfully pitched himself as more attuned to the needs of the district, especially after the protests that followed the summer 2020 murder of George Floyd. Though the district includes the affluent Westchester County suburbs north of Manhattan, places like Mount Vernon and Yonkers have higher poverty rates than the rest of the county.<\/p>\n
In the last weeks of the campaign, Bowman and his supporters have leveled accusations of racism against Latimer, seizing on comments made by the county executive, including recently suggesting Bowman would win a portion of the electorate because he is Black and that his opponent\u2019s constituency is in Dearborn, Mich. \u2014 a majority Muslim city.<\/p>\n
Latimer has forcefully pushed back on these attacks, saying Bowman is trying to boost support with Black voters by calling \u201cthe White guy running against you racist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf all we\u2019re ever going to do in this society is pick people who look like us, you could be picking \u2014 if you\u2019re a Democrat here \u2014 Clarence Thomas, who looks like you,\u201d Latimer said in an interview.<\/p>\n
Latimer has said he had contemplated challenging Bowman before Oct. 7 over his belief that the congressman cared more about developing a national profile than providing for his district \u2014 an attack Bowman adamantly rejects \u2014 but Bowman\u2019s immediate response to the deadly attack on Israel solidified his decision to run.<\/p>\n
Pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, encouraged Latimer to run, and focused on Bowman and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), whose primary is in August, as their top targets in Democratic primaries. Outside spending in the race has topped $23 million, the most ever spent in a House primary, more than half of which was in anti-Bowman ads, according to AdImpact. <\/p>\n
Of the $16 million spent attacking Bowman, most of it came from United Democracy Project, AIPAC\u2019s super PAC. The organization spent a total of $14 million on ads in the race \u2014 one pro-Latimer and three anti-Bowman \u2014 the most it has ever spent on one contest, according to Patrick Dorton, a UDP spokesman.<\/p>\n
Bowman and his supporters have railed against the amount of outside spending in the race and have accused Latimer of cozying up to wealthy Republican donors because many of UDP\u2019s top givers have also donated to GOP campaigns and causes.<\/p>\n
The Israel-Gaza war has dominated coverage of the Bowman-Latimer contest, but even the two candidates say the conflict is only part of the story. Most Democrats nationally say the war is not the top issue animating their vote, and are more likely to cite democracy or the economy as their main concern, polls show. Voters in the district who spoke to The Washington Post last week more frequently cited local issues, such as education funding, or their personal ties to the candidates.<\/p>\n
Latimer supporters say his deep ties to the community, not the millions spent on his behalf, will catapult him to victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to be in touch with the public and he has the ability to connect in a way I haven\u2019t seen in many other politicians,\u201d said David Imamura, a Westchester County legislator who has endorsed Latimer. \u201cThat\u2019s what is going to carry him across the finish line here.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Juneteenth event last week, Latimer and Bowman appeared on a sweltering afternoon, speaking beneath the blue and red Juneteenth flag. Nearby, someone had written in chalk, \u201cFrom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,\u201d a rallying cry that pro-Palestinian activists have characterized as a call for equal rights, but that the Anti-Defamation League says is an antisemitic call for the eradication of Israel.<\/p>\n
In brief remarks, Bowman called the television ads attacking him \u201clies and propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is big money in politics, right wing, Republican propaganda. They are lying to you. My mother raised me better than that,\u201d he said, adding that the people needed to have their voices heard at the ballot box, \u201cnot the wealthy people and special interests trying to destroy our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karla Turner, 63, a retired educator in Mount Vernon who is Black, said she can identify with Bowman and is worried about the amount of outside money working to unseat him. She has voted for Latimer in multiple races in the past, but now views him \u201cas a disgraceful opportunist taking this money to run against Bowman,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Malik Howard, 45, who was selling bottled water and cans of ginger ale at the event, said he would also back Bowman and not because they have the same skin color.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like he\u2019s more connected to the people that need,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n
But Ryan Carter, 48, a clerk in Mount Vernon, said he has supported both men in past elections, but in this matchup he was backing Latimer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that I disagree with his politics, I just don\u2019t take him seriously,\u201d Carter said of Bowman, referencing the fire alarm incident.<\/p>\n
Carter, who is also Black, dismissed accusations that Latimer is racist.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo say that he\u2019s racist just because he\u2019s running against Bowman, I need more evidence than just screaming racist,\u201d Carter said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a county executive. He has a record.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. \u2014 A volunteer for Rep. Jamaal Bowman\u2019s campaign trailed George Latimer out of a Juneteenth event last week, asking the Westchester County executive, who\u2019s challenging Bowman in a primary Tuesday, whether he was getting his \u201cracist talking points\u201d from \u201cMAGA donors,\u201d or whether he had come up with them himself. Latimer, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}