Left-wing “squad” representative Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) is trailing by double-digits against his moderate primary challenger.
Bowman is losing to Westchester County executive George Latimer 52 percent to 35 percent among Democratic primary voters in New York’s 16th congressional district, the New York Post first reported. The poll was produced by veteran Democratic pollster Mark Mellman for the pro-Latimer Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group for pro-Israel Democrats.
The numbers are even worse for Bowman among Democrats who voted in at least three of the past four primary elections. Latimer leads Bowman by 21 points, 56 percent to 35 percent with those voters. His lead grows to 26 points, 60 percent to 34 percent, among Democrats familiar with Latimer and Bowman, who make up 76 percent of the primary electorate.
A longtime local officeholder, Latimer is viewed positively by 68 percent of Democrats in the district and only 18 percent hold negative views of him. The deep blue district encompasses southern Westchester County just outside of New York City and parts of the northeast Bronx. New York’s Democratic congressional primary takes place on June 25.
“Mark Mellman not only had incorrect polls on this race in 2020, the candidate Mellman supported had to tell him to stop airing racist ads that darkened Rep. Bowman’s face,” a Bowman campaign spokesman told the Post. “He doesn’t have an ounce of credibility here, and his junk numbers back that up.”
Mellman’s poll found over 60 percent of Democrats in the district believe the U.S. should support Israel, and 59 percent approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the situation. A separate poll funded by the left-wing Working Families Party found two-thirds of Democrats in the district support a “cease-fire” to halt the Israel–Hamas war. Bowman supports a “cease-fire” and called Israel’s war effort against Hamas a “genocide.” He previously condemned Hamas’s mass civilian slaughter on October 7.
Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal last month for a temporary cease-fire in order to exchange Gazan prisoners for some of the hostages Hamas continues to hold in captivity.
Bowman and his progressive “squad” colleagues are staunch critics of Israel and oppose U.S. military support for the Jewish state in its ongoing war against Hamas. Resurfaced video footage from November appeared to show Bowman questioning the mass sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women, calling it “propaganda,” Politico first reported.
Bowman walked back his comments in a statement after the footage came to light. He also recently walked back old personal blog-posts promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories once they were unearthed by the Daily Beast.
House lawmakers censured Bowman last year for falsely pulling a fire alarm inside of a congressional office building to delay a House spending vote. He was charged with a misdemeanor in October for pulling the fire alarm but denied doing so with intent to obstruct a congressional proceeding. He pleaded guilty to the charge and paid a $1,000 fine.