Far-left Squad battles for survival Tuesday in New York primary

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Rep. Jamaal Bowman is fighting to avoid becoming the first member of the “Squad” to lose his congressional seat.

Mr. Bowman, 48, faces a strong challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the Democratic primary Tuesday in New York’s 16th Congressional District.

It is a contest that could foreshadow more trouble for the party’s far-left wing. Democrats in the district, which spans the leafy lower Westchester County suburbs and the northern Bronx, will decide if they side with the party’s far-left Sen. Bernard Sanders wing or the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wing.

Mr. Bowman is backed by Mr. Sanders of Vermont and fellow Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Mr. Latimer is endorsed by Ms. Clinton and other establishment figures.

Mr. Bowman trails Mr. Latimer in recent polls by as much as 17 points.

A loss for Mr. Bowman would be another setback for the far-left after it suffered defeats in elections in Oregon and Washington state this year. The movement will be tested next in Missouri’s Aug. 6 primary, where Squad member Rep. Cori Bush is locked in a close contest.

Mr. Latimer, a veteran former state legislator, got a boost in the race from heavy spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which wants to oust Mr. Bowman over his anti-Israel rhetoric.

Mr. Bowman went on a profanity-laced tirade against AIPAC at a rally Saturday in St. Mary’s Park in Mott Haven.

“We are going to show f——— AIPAC, the power of the motherf——— South Bronx!” Mr. Bowman said, wearing a yellow T-shirt and shorts, as he sauntered around on stage waving his arms wildly.

“People ask me why I got a foul mouth. What am I supposed to do? You’re coming after me! You’re coming after my family! You’re coming after my children! I’m not supposed to fight back?” he said.

He also picked up a wooden stool and began waving it as he led his supporters in a chanting: “Cease-fire now! Cease-fire now!” 

Mr. Bowman has been shedding support from Democratic leaders who not long ago were closely allied with him.

Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York whose political rise in 2020 coincided with Mr. Bowman’s, recoiled from his colleague’s profane performance.

“The level of profanity here is so shocking as to be unbecoming of a Member of Congress,” said Mr. Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel who also quit the Congressional Progressive Caucus over its anti-Israel stance. “There is nothing in Jamaal Bowman’s unhinged tirade that remotely resembles the decency of the people I know and represent in the South Bronx.” 

Mr. Latimer, 70, who is term-limited as county executive, told The Washington Times during a campaign stop in White Plains that he ran against Mr. Bowman because of the congressman’s antics, which included pulling a fire alarm during a spending vote.

“The way he has articulated himself on certain issues just pushed me more to want to [run] as I became less enamored over the way he’s operated,” he said.