Moderate Westchester County executive George Latimer successfully toppled progressive firebrand US Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press — capping off one of the closest watched races in the country.
The AP called the race for Latimer, who held a significant lead over Bowman by 9:45 p.m., in the battle to represent a district that covers much of Westchester County and a sliver of the Bronx. Latimer led with 55.38% of the vote to Bowman’s 44.62%, with 71% of precincts reporting.
At Latimer’s election night watch party in the Westchester city of White Plains, the country executive struck an resolute tone. As he addressed the crowd, Latimer emphasized that he will be a very different representative from Bowman, emphasizing that he wants to find common ground with his likely future Congressional colleagues.
“We have to look at the arguments of the far-right and the far-left and say ‘you cannot destroy this country with your rhetoric and your arguments,’” Latimer told a cheering crowd. “We have to have unity all accross that continuum. And if you hold a strong belief, you still must work with people who don’t share that belief because America hangs in the balance.”
Latimer, a fixture of Westchester County politics, will likely represent the area in Congress after spending the last six years as county executive and prior to that serving on the county legislature and the Rye City Council.
Although Latimer still has to win the November general election, he will likely go on to be the area’s next representative as Republicans stand little chance of winning in the heavily Democratic district.
‘Our opponent may have won this round’
Meanwhile, Bowman conceded the race at his own Election Night party in Yonkers. While the mood inside the party was somber, Bowman struck an upbeat tone, vowing to fighting for “justice, freedom and equality.”
“This race was never about me and me alone, it was never about this district and this district alone, it was always about all of us,” Bowman said. “Now, our 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.”
Latimer’s apparent win marks a major blow to progressives both locally and nationally, as Bowman is the first member of the left-wing “squad” to get booted from Congress since the group first formed in 2019. Bowman — a former middle school principal — has been part of the progressive cadre since he was first elected to Congress in 2020 after ousting longtime Rep. Eliot Engel.
The outcome of the race also serves as a possible indication of where New York’s suburban voters stand going into November’s general elections, where Democrats are hoping to flip a number of swing seats just outside of the five boroughs from red to blue.
A bitter struggle ends
Signs of Bowman’s impending loss were becoming apparent in the weeks leading up to Election Day. Most notably a June 11 Emerson College poll gave Latimer a 17% edge over the incumbent.
Even Bowman’s last minute sprint to get out the vote, in which he enlisted the help of progressive standard-bearers like US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens) and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont), was not nearly enough to tip the race in his favor. And while Bowman was endorsed by Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn), he has made enemies of many other pro-Israel centrist Democrats — including former Congress member and current candidate Mondaire Jones.
The county executive’s win concludes an intensely bitter, and often quite personal, primary that saw accusations of racism and antisemitism fly between the two candidates. The race was also the most expensive House primary in US history, according to findings by the ad tracking service AdImpact released last week.
Much of the $24 million of spending in the race came from the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose super PAC reportedly spent roughly $14 million attack ads against Bowman.
As AIPAC’s immense spending in Latimer’s favor indicates, the county executive is a staunch Israel supporter. He has unequivocally defended the country’s devastating military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state, where they killed 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages.
Bowman, on the other hand, has been highly critical of Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion of the coastal enclave, which Gazan officials say has killed over 37,000 Palestinians. He refers to the onslaught as a “genocide” and has consistently called for a permanent ceasefire and the formation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The Congress member charged that Latimer is entirely beholden to AIPAC, often pointing out that nearly half of the group’s contributions reportedly come from frequent GOP donors. During his election party, Bowman vowed to continue to fight for a free Palestine.”
Latimer has insisted that he is not influenced by the group and in turn has accused Bowman of minimizing Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and not forcefully enough calling for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
The issues of racism and class have also played heavily in the contentious race.
Bowman contended Latimer has an “abysmal record” on racial justice as county executive and darkened his skin on campaign mailers. Latimer denied both accusations and fired back that Bowman only cares about his Black and brown constituents, while ignoring the district’s white and Asian populations.
Furthermore, Bowman cast himself as a champion of the working class and Latimer as beholden to moneyed special interests.
Yet Latimer’s deep roots in the district and the substantial spending on his behalf likely gave his campaign the steam to push past Bowman’s top lines of attack.
Latimer vowed to be a representative for everyone in the district — no matter their zip code, sexual orientation or political ideology.
“I have never viewed an election as a blank check from you to me, it is a promissory note from you to me,” Latimer said. “If I can be the friend that I have always tried to be in Washington, then I will deliver on that promissory note. That is my intent, starting tomorrow morning, to make sure that I’m prepared to be as good a Congressman as I can be. Because that is what you voted for, and that is what I owe you.”
This is a developing story; check with amNY.com later for updates.
