The fall of Jamaal Bowman

In 2020, two years after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallied progressives and swept into power, the left looked to prove its clout by targeting perceived moderate Democrats in primaries. Progressives focused on the sitting chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who represented Westchester County and part of the Bronx. Attacking Engel for being in the pocket of the Israelis, progressives ousted him, replacing him with Jamaal Bowman. Four years later, the Jewish voters in this district had their revenge.

Though Bowman attacked Engel for being too tied to the right in Israel and working for Israeli interests, not those of his district, he was very careful not to go full anti-Semite. He never attacked Engel directly as working for “the Jews,” just as being in Israel’s pocket and working as a lobbyist for Israel instead of a congressman for his district. Engel, for his part, never took Bowman or the progressives seriously. He never did a deep dive into Bowman’s background, his 9/11 conspiracy theories, or his anti-Semitism. Engel assumed, by virtue of his position and power, his constituents would send him back. Bowman exploited that arrogance.

Four years later, Bowman got a little too comfortable. He grew more comfortable moving away from attacks on the right in Israel to openly anti-Semitic statements. He laughed at those who protested the rape of Israeli women on Oct. 7, 2023. He denied Hamas had committed their savage atrocities. He blamed Jews, not just Israelis, and he did so arrogantly and angrily. He alienated the Jewish voters in his district and many others who were not just outraged by Hamas’s attack, but by Bowman’s defensive attitude towards Hamas.

During the primary, Bowman publicly claimed to have massive Jewish support. Reporters revealed his campaign had started emailing local rabbis asking for testimonials. None were forthcoming. By the end, Bowman became more explicitly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel and doubled down on his progressive rhetoric, identifying again as a Democratic Socialist. He brought in the Squad for support. The crowds shrank.

George Latimer, who beat Bowman in Tuesday’s primary election, is the 70-year-old Executive of Westchester County. He ran a relatively quiet race against Bowman, choosing to let Bowman hang on his own words. Bowman obliged. Though Latimer will have to go through a general election, the district is so Democratic that a Latimer win is assured. Democrats will replace their 48-year-old congressman with an inoffensive, quiet man whose tenure will not, due to age, be long.

There are surely congressional districts in the United States where radical critics of Israel can get elected. Ilhan Omar, for example, is safe. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is safe. But those districts tend to be drawn, through gerrymandering, to be comfortable abodes of the small group of extreme partisans on both sides of the aisle. Most districts, however, are less safe for the nuts. As a general rule, the more suburban a district, the more a member of Congress must work and legislate, not just perform. New York’s Sixteenth Congressional District stretches from the Bronx at the northern end of New York City up into the suburban wealth of Westchester. It is roughly 40 percent white, and Democratic presidential candidates can expect to win by 20 points reliably. But the district abhors clowns.

Jamaal Bowman won the district in 2020 by claiming his predecessor was out of touch with the values and interests of the district. Bowman just lost for the same reason. Congressmen can only deviate so far from the customs and mores of their constituents before the constituents have enough.

Progressive partisans are already screaming that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, was to blame for Bowman’s loss. But Bowman was down in the polls well before AIPAC got involved. He had become an embarrassment after pulling a fire alarm in Congress. His 9/11 conspiracies had started circulating. He made it easy for AIPAC to get involved. He made it easy for Latimer.

Members of Congress must, as Bowman noted in 2020, represent their districts. Where Engel got drunk on power and took the district for granted, Bowman got drunk on celebrity. He became a face of the Squad and a darling of the left. He confused advancing progressivism with advancing the interests of his district and he assumed that his district would share or tolerate his opposition to Israel and its U.S. relationship. He was wrong. Good riddance.