Bowman ouster spells trouble for House progressives on Israel – Washington Examiner

House progressives suffered a heavy blow on Tuesday night after one of their leading members, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), lost his primary challenge — spelling disaster for other progressives like Bowman who are being targeted for their anti-Israel stances.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer defeated Bowman, 59.6% to 40.4% as of 11:15 p.m. Eastern time. The race had shattered primary fundraising records, with outside spending totaling over $20.5 million. Most of the ads placed in New York’s 16th District Democratic primary came from anti-Bowman groups, with the large expenditures led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel group, and an affiliated organization poured millions into defeating Bowman, with AIPAC vowing it would do the same to several other progressives for their defense of pro-Palestinian protesters and calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

While Bowman suffered defeat largely thanks to AIPAC and its spending, his loss also can also be attributed to significant shifts in his district’s boundaries over the years since he won in 2020. Currently, 21% of the 16th District’s voting-age population is black and 42% is non-Hispanic white, according to Census figures. In 2022, the voting-age population was 30% black and 34% white.

Latimer, though white and able to attract a large number of voters in the population, largely leaned on his long track record in the district during his campaign. The 16th District includes parts of Westchester County, where he has served as a county executive since 2018, and a small area of the Bronx. He has served in politics for over three decades, as well, representing New York in the state Legislature before becoming county executive.

Still, AIPAC’s aggressive spending in Bowman’s primary likely has other progressives waiting with bated breath as they prepare for their own primary challenges later this summer.

“Squad” Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Cori Bush (D-MO), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) face primaries in August. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, has been the leading opposing voice to Israel and the war in Gaza. She has criticized the Biden administration and had urged Michigan Democratic voters to vote “uncommitted” in the presidential primary to reelect Joe Biden.

Donors close to AIPAC, DMFI, and other pro-Israel groups have cited Bush and Bowman’s races as the groups’ top targets for 2024. Bush’s challenger, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, has been vocally critical of the Missouri congresswoman’s calls to end the “occupation” of Israel — a common call among the “Squad” Democrats as the war continues in the region.

In Minnesota, Omar faces a rematch against former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels. As of April, pro-Israel groups were not getting involved in the primary.

However, with Bowman’s ousting an example of how drastic AIPAC’s spending can influence an election, it might incentivize related organizations to hop into Omar’s race and pour money into Samuels’ campaign as some did two years ago. In 2022, when Samuels narrowly lost to Omar in the midterms, the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project sent funding to another super PAC that ultimately spent about $625,000 on Samuels’s behalf.

Not all attempts to oust anti-Israel members have been successful. “Squad” Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) defeated her pro-Israel backed challenger Bhavani Patel — however, she was one of the few progressives not targeted by AIPAC or the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, with both groups opting to stay out of the primary.

Pro-Israel groups and their allies are not just targeting progressive incumbents. In Oregon, Susheela Jayapal, sister to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, lost her primary election after outside groups dumped millions of dollars into the contest against her. While the ads attacking Susheela Jayapal did not mention Gaza or Israel, many House progressives believed that she was being targeted by “dark money” due to both her and her sister’s stance on Israel.

“The idea that some wealthy millionaire or billionaire or some set of millionaires can come in and buy the race from out of town, I think, should be really offensive to Oregonians,” Congresswoman Jayapal told the Washington Examiner back in May ahead of the Oregon primaries.

Also in Oregon, Mainstream Democrats PAC dropped over $750,000 on the race attacking Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a progressive — the first race that the PAC, which reportedly has ties to AIPAC, dropped money on in the 2024 cycle.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Pro-Israel groups are already celebrating their victory in ousting Bowman and looking forward to the next contests against his fellow progressives. The United Democracy Project vowed in a statement that it would replicate its strong support of Latimer against other anti-Israel candidates across the country.

“Latimer’s victory is another example of how support for the U.S.-Israel alliance is both good policy and good politics,” the group said. “UDP will continue to support leaders who promote our partnership with Israel and oppose detractors, regardless of political party.”