Moderate who unseated 'Squad' member Jamaal Bowman says Dem voters want a pro-Israel party
EXCLUSIVE: The moderate Democrat who defeated "Squad" member Rep. Jamaal Bowman suggests the party’s voter base is largely pro-Israel.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s victory in late June was a decisive rebuke of the Democrats’ left-most flank, ending what was the most expensive primary election in U.S. history.
The fight was part of a wider fracture within the Democratic Party created by Israel’s war in Gaza.
"When I won the election in my area, they elected very strongly in favor of my position on a host of issues, Israel being one of them. And I do believe that reflects the broad base of the Democratic Party," Latimer told Fox News Digital.
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"There are different voices in the party. And I think support for a democracy is the bedrock of our support for Israel. Can we negotiate a peaceful settlement over there? Yes. But, by and large, it's not going to come by more violence, and the violence that Hamas did on Oct. 7 is the single biggest impediment to peace in the Middle East."
Bowman, a far-left progressive, was one of Israel’s most vocal opponents in the House. He’s part of a growing faction of Democrats critical of the U.S. government's longstanding ties with Israel, a fight that has been exacerbated since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack and Israel’s ensuing response.
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Latimer, by contrast, was propped up by pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose associated entities poured millions into the race. He also got the backing of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and even one of Bowman’s own