Socialist New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost in a Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District on Tuesday to county executive George Latimer.
Bowman is a member of “the Squad,” an informal group of far-Left Democrat House members. He was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Fellow Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appeared at a rally with him in New York on Saturday.
Bowman’s challenger entered the primary in part due to Bowman’s opposition to Israel and controversial statements he’s made about Israel’s war in Gaza.
The New York congressman has been critical of Israel, even after the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. He has accused Israel of committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
At a political rally last November, Bowman questioned whether Hamas terrorists actually raped women or killed babies.
“There was propaganda used in the beginning of the siege,” Bowman said Nov. 17 at a pro-Palestinian rally, according to a TikTok video reported on by Politico. “There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women. But they still keep using that lie [for] propaganda.”
After initially refusing to address those comments, Bowman reversed himself and condemned the rapes committed by Hamas.
In the weeks and days just before the primary vote, Bowman began to change his stance on the Israel-Palestine issue and apologized for the remarks he made about Hamas not committing rape.
“Immediately, when the U.N. provided additional evidence, I voted to condemn the sexual violence,” Bowman said a week before the election, according to the Hill. “I apologize for my comments, and now, we’re continuing to do the work to fight sexual violence and domestic violence in all its forms.”
Bowman has had other contentious moments and scandals during his time in office.
He was censured by Congress following an incident in which he pulled a fire alarm in a congressional office building just before a House vote in late September. The fire alarm nearly delayed a vote on a continuing resolution that, if not passed, would have shut down part of the government.
Bowman said he pulled the alarm by mistake and that he thought the lever was a method to open the door and exit the building.
Bowman pleaded guilty to pulling the fire alarm in a District of Columbia court. According to district law, pulling a fire alarm falsely and intentionally is punishable by a fine or up to six months in jail. He was told to pay a $1,000 fine and apologize to the Capitol Police.
In January, the Daily Beast unearthed blog posts from when Bowman was a New York high school principal who promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories.
The blog posts prompted J Street, a left-wing Jewish advocacy organization, to pull its support.
“When the rhetoric, the framing, and the approach go too far, that’s where we are going to hold our line,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in an interview with the Forward. “And that’s when we felt that Bowman crossed the line here.”
Bowman said he regretted writing the posts.
