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By Andrew Stanton
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Representative Jamaal Bowman is facing a competitive primary challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer this month, according to polls.
Several pro-Palestinian Democrats serving in the House are facing competitive primaries this year. The conflict between Israel and Hamas has sharply divided Democrats, as progressives call for a ceasefire while more centrist Democrats voice support for Israel. The conflict has taken center stage in the Democratic primary for New York's 16th Congressional District, where Bowman may be the House Democrat most vulnerable to a primary challenger.
Voters will decide between Bowman and Latimer on June 25, and the primary is heating up in the final weeks as former Representative Mondaire Jones, who is seeking a return to the House in a battleground district, endorsed Latimer this week. The endorsement is the latest blow to Bowman's campaign and sparked progressive outrage.
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Polls on the primary in the safely Democratic district suggest Bowman may be in danger, as the most recent survey showed Latimer with a lead.
The poll—conducted by the Mellman Group and sponsored by the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC that endorsed Latimer—found the challenger leading with 52 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, 35 percent said they would back Bowman.
The poll was conducted among 400 likely voters from March 26 to 30.
A separate poll conducted by Upswing Research and sponsored by the Bowman campaign found Bowman with a one-point lead. Forty-four percent of respondents said they were backing Bowman, while 43 percent said they planned to vote for Latimer.
The poll was conducted among 500 likely voters from February 10 to 12.
Latimer has also raised more money than Bowman, though both have taken in millions, according to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). From January 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Bowman's campaign raised $2.7 million, while Latimer's raised $3.7 million.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has been central to the campaign. While Bowman has been among the most vocal Israel critics, Latimer has positioned himself as the more pro-Israel candidate.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)'s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, unveiled a new advertisement attacking Bowman's record on Israel featuring Elisha Wiesel, the son of author Eli Wiesel. AIPAC has focused its efforts on several primaries against progressive lawmakers they view as not sufficiently pro-Israel.
Bowman, however, has sought to cast Latimer's more centrist policies as not in line with the liberal district that backed Biden by 45 points in 2020. On Wednesday, he wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that Latimer would "side with MAGA billionaires instead of the people of NY16" after Latimer signaled he would not support raising taxes on the wealthy.
An Upswing and Working Family Parties poll conducted among 601 primary voters in the district from March 5 to 10, found that 69 percent of respondents would be more likely to support a candidate who has called for a ceasefire, according to The New York Daily News.
The district contains some parts of the Bronx and the more suburban Westchester County.
Bowman was first elected in 2020, defeating longtime Representative Eliot Engel in the primary. He has been viewed as a rising star in New York politics but has faced some controversies over the past year, including an incident in which he pulled a fire alarm at the U.S. Capitol last September. He has said he thought the alarm would open a door, but critics accused him of disrupting an official proceeding.
Other progressives are also facing more centrist primary challengers but were handed a victory when Representative Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania Democrat, beat back a more moderate challenger in April.
A Bowman spokesperson previously told Newsweek that Lee's victory was a "resounding reminder that politics rooted in humanity is a winning formula."
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