Progressive Caucus PAC withdraws support from Democrat Mondaire Jones

The Congressional Progressive Caucus‘s campaign group withdrew its endorsement of former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones on Thursday after he endorsed “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman‘s (D-NY) challenger this week.

After Jones endorsed Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the June 25 Democratic primary over Bowman on Monday, the progressive caucus’s PAC announced it would rescind its support on Thursday.

“A number of factors led to the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC rescinding the endorsement of Mondaire Jones,” PAC Executive Director Evan Brown said to NBC News, adding that the move “was a unanimous decision of our PAC board.”

The move from the group is a loss for Jones as he prepares for a comeback to Congress, beginning with his primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District. Jones lost his seat in the House in 2022 due to redistricting in the Empire State and is now running to oust vulnerable Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).

Jones endorsed Latimer, who has been a vocal supporter of Israel, over Bowman, who has joined his hard left colleagues in calling for a permanent ceasefire in the war between the Jewish state and Hamas, a stance that has caused Bowman to lose endorsements from Jewish groups and Democratic allies.

Jones said the CPC PAC notified him on Wednesday night they would be rescinding the endorsement, but he has “no regrets” about endorsing Latimer.

“I have no regrets about standing up for what I firmly believe in,” Jones said in a statement, adding that he and Bowman have “very different views on Israel.”

“I have been horrified by his recent acceptance of the [Democratic Socialist Association] endorsement, his denial of the sexual assault of Israeli women by Hamas on October 7, and his rush to call for a ceasefire before Israel could hardly begin to defend itself against the worst assault on Jews since the Holocaust,” Jones continued. “Over the past few months, I have had countless conversations with Jewish residents in my district and across the Lower Hudson Valley who feel anxiety, anger, and fear due to Rep. Bowman’s words and actions.”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) told reporters on Tuesday that she and other caucus members are displeased with Jones’s decision to endorse Latimer over Bowman.

When asked on Tuesday if the caucus was considering rescinding the endorsement of Jones, Jayapal had said, “We’re talking about it.”

“Honestly, I’m just so disgusted by it,” Jayapal said. “This is a former colleague of his, an incumbent member who is a top-priority candidate for us, an incumbent for us in the Progressive Caucus.”

Jones’s decision to snub Bowman could be a move to attract more moderate voters in the 17th District, which is rated a “toss-up” with a Democratic advantage of +3.

“He thinks it’s obviously politically expedient, but I don’t,” Jayapal said of Jones. “And it’s not the way we operate as progressives.”

“We can’t be inconsistent where we have a top-priority incumbent that we’re spending money on, and one of our candidates … who is attacking that person,” she continued. “So we stand firmly behind Jamaal Bowman; we’re going to do everything we can to help Jamaal win. And I hope we have Jamaal back in Congress.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has endorsed Latimer and donated significantly to his campaign due to Bowman’s anti-Israel comments, an effort by the group in several progressive primary races to replace them with pro-Israel members. AIPAC recently spent $1.9 million on ads attacking Bowman, with the group on track to spend nearly $25 million in the race.

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A FiveThirtyEight poll from March found Bowman trailing Latimer by 17 points. The congressman’s approval rating has also plummeted to 36%, compared to Latimer’s 68% approval rating.

The Washington Examiner reached out to CPC PAC and Bowman for comment.