Jamaal Bowman loses most expensive House primary in history amid bitter Democratic fight over Israel and Gaza

Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman – a member of the self-styled “Squad” of progressive lawmakers in Congress – lost to a primary challenger who receivedan unprecedented onslaught of money from pro-Israel groups in the most expensive House primary in history.

Bowman had become unpopular among pro-Israel Democrats because of his support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas amid a war that has killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC (AIPAC), United Democracy Project, poured $14m into trying to unseat Bowman as he faced Westchester County Executive George Latimer, considered a Democratic Party moderate.

Early returns showed that Latimer dominated Bowman in Westchester County, winning more than 60 percent of the vote in the heavily white and affluent county, which accounted for the majority of his district. Conversely, Bowman only won 82 per cent of the vote in his base of support in the Bronx, which has a large Black and Latino population, but also comprises only a sliver of the total voting population.

Most of the anti-Bowman advertisements did not focus on his policies on Israel, but rather his decision to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, his opposition to a deal to lift the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts and his own personal antics in Congress.

The ads portrayed Bowman as antagonistic toward President Joe Biden, something Bowman strongly denies. Bowman for his part during one of his final rallies noted that he had brought Biden, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the district.

“People try to say I'm against the Democratic Party,” he said. “No, I want