The Squad Loses Rep. Jamaal Bowman
New York primary voters reject his antagonistic progressive politics.
A message delivered. The WSJ writes:
“Political incumbents are hard to beat, but voters in Westchester County, N.Y., are through being embarrassed by Rep. Jamaal Bowman. He lost Tuesday’s Democratic primary in the state’s 16th District, after drawing a notable challenger, county executive George Latimer. The result wasn’t close, as Mr. Latimer was leading Wednesday morning by about 17 points with nearly 90% of the vote counted.
Mr. Bowman is part of the Squad, an uberprogressive faction in Congress, and his defeat could prompt similar challenges. That’s one reason Bernie Sanders and company tried to rescue him. “The defeat of Bowman,” Mr. Sanders said last week, “would be a message to every member of Congress that if you oppose corporate interests the billionaire class will take you down.”
The Squad especially blames the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, for getting involved in the race. “We are going to show f— Aipac, the power of the mother— South Bronx!” Mr. Bowman said at a rally Saturday with Mr. Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “We are not going to stand silent while U.S. tax dollars kills babies and women and children. My opponent supports genocide.” The guy has always exuded class.
“Jamaal Bowman’s greatest problem is Jamaal Bowman,” Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the neighboring 15th District, recently said. “Aipac did not illegally pull a fire alarm, Jamaal Bowman did. Aipac did not vote against infrastructure, Jamaal Bowman did. Aipac did not deny the Hamas rapes against Israeli women, Jamaal Bowman did.”
Mr. Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for his fire alarm stunt at a House office building. Last week on a WNYC radio show, he said he was sorry for denying Hamas rapes. Several months ago he said he regretted writing a 9/11 truther poem on his blog in 2011, when he was 35 years old and working as a middle-school principal. Voters need a cheat sheet to keep track of Mr. Bowman’s apologies.
Opinion | Jamaal Bowman’s 9/11 Truther Poem
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Are his New York constituents fed up with this guy yet?
Mr. Latimer says he’ll vote for legislation to codify abortion rights and transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels, and we don’t expect to agree with him on much, other than that ousting Mr. Bowman is an act of political hygiene. May there be more such efforts, in both parties.”
It would appear Bowman’s colleague Rep. Torres has it right, as incumbents are hard to beat. Bowman did this to himself.
WSJ: The Squad Loses Rep. Jamaal Bowman New York primary voters reject his antagonistic progressive politics.

(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)