Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week endorsed George Latimer’s primary challenge against incumbent Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the NY-16 Democratic primary.
Bowman is facing an uphill battle to retain his seat in the predominantly Jewish district in light of his open antisemitism and very vocal support for Hamas.
The most recent Emerson poll shows Latimer, the County Executive for Westchester County, holding a 17-point lead over the radical incumbent Bowman, 48 percent to 31 percent.
Bowman is supported by his fellow Squad members, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who, along with Democrat Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, will be holding a pre-election rally in the Bronx in support of the incumbent ahead of the June 25 New York primary.
However, Latimer, a popular official in the district, has the support of former New York Governor David Paterson and other high-profile Democrats in the state.
Mrs. Clinton became the latest former New York officeholder to throw her support behind Latimer.
In a post on X, the former New York Senator said that Democrats needed “strong” and “principled” lawmakers in Congress with Donald Trump on the ballot.
Mrs. Clinton said Latimer would “fight for President Biden’s agenda,” including protecting abortion and standing up to the NRA.
Bowman’s open antisemitism also prompted AIPAC’s super PAC the United Democracy Project to throw its support behind Latimer. The super PAC has spent nearly $10 million in ads supporting Latimer and painting Bowman as too radical.
For his part, Bowman has tried to portray himself as a victim of a Republican effort to oust him in a dark-money campaign funded by wealthy Jewish groups. The two-term congressman has sought to paint himself as an “outsider” who is supported by the grassroots.
Meanwhile, Latimer has accused Bowman of using his office to seek fame rather than delivering results for his constituents.
