New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of the U.S. House's progressive Squad, faces an uphill battle in Tuesday's primary.
Bowman, who has expressed anti-Israel sentiment following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists, trails Westchester County Executive George Latimer, 70, by double digits in New York’s 16th Congressional District, according to polls.
If he's defeated, Bowman will be the first Squad member to lose reelection.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel PAC in the U.S., has spent nearly $15 million to oust Bowman through its affiliate, United Democracy Project, Politico reported.
Ironically, Bowman in 2020 defeated then-House Foreign Affairs Chair Eliot Engel in part by portraying him as too closely tied to Israel.
The 48-year-old Bowman was seen screaming and swearing about AIPAC at an expletive-filled campaign rally during the weekend, DailyMail.com reported.
"We are going to show [expletive] AIPAC, the power of the [expletive] South Bronx!" Bowman yelled Saturday at a rally — outside of his district — with fellow progressive member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in attendance.
"That makes him look even more detached from the spaces that he's supposed to be representing," Politico’s Emily Ngo said.
"It helps him hype up his base … his last chance at what could be a win. But it doesn’t help him necessarily combat the image that he's not tied deeply to the district."
Bowman received much attention in September of 2023, when he pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol complex as lawmakers scrambled to pass a funding bill and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
In October, Bowman voted against a House resolution affirming that the chamber stood with Israel following the Hamas attacks. That angered many constituents.
The Bowman-Latimer race has become the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, with ad spending at $24 million, according to AdImpact.
The winner of the primary will be the prohibitive favorite to win in the general election. The district, which includes parts of Westchester County and a small piece of the Bronx, is a Democratic stronghold.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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