By Diego Ramos / Original to ScheerPost
In the most expensive House race in U.S. history, incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost his reelection bid in New York’s 16th Congressional District on Tuesday to AIPAC-backed George Latimer.
Latimer’s campaign received substantial support from the pro-Israel lobbying group. Their super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP), spent over $14.5 million on the Westchester county executive’s efforts.
Much of the campaign centered on the genocide in Gaza, with Bowman standing out as one of the House’s most vocal critics of Israel’s actions against Palestinian civilians. Bowman, in his concession speech, expressed, “we should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true.”
Other Democratic politicians responded to Bowman’s defeat on Tuesday with their own statements of outrage.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called out Latimer’s victory as a Republican operation in Democratic clothing. “I think that what we do need to have a real conversation about is how a Republican, primarily Republican and largely Republican-financed organization is playing and dumping money and playing an extremely divisive role in the Democratic Party,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned for Bowman and in a statement following the defeat said, “It is an outrage and an insult to democracy that we maintain a corrupt campaign finance system which allows billionaire-funded super PACs to buy elections.”
Sanders also mentions, “Campaigns should be about a clash of ideas, not which candidate can raise more money from the oligarchs.”
Many were also quick to point out the support Latimer received from Democratic elites such as Hillary Clinton and how their support highlights the flawed electoral system in the U.S.
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive organization Our Revolution, issued a statement Tuesday following Bowman’s defeat calling out Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton and other establishment Democrats who supported Bowman’s challenger like to parade around as champions of Democracy. When push comes to shove, though, they lack the backbone to call out the broken system that allows Democratic primaries to be sold to the highest bidder,” Geevarghese said.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who also faces an AIPAC-backed primary challenger, said, “AIPAC and their allies — backed by far-right Donald Trump megadonors — poured a tidal wave of cash into this primary race showing us just how desperate these billionaire extremists are in their attempts to buy our democracy, promote their own gain, and silence the voices of progress and justice.”
“There should be no question about the need to get Big Money out of politics,” she said in a statement.
Please share this story and help us grow our network!
Diego Ramos
Diego Ramos, ScheerPost Special Projects Editor and New York bureau chief, is a journalist from Queens, NY. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has previously worked at BuzzFeed News and was managing editor of Annenberg News at USC. He’s covered and researched myriad topics including war, politics, psychedelic research and sports.
Editor’s Note: At a moment when the once vaunted model of responsible journalism is overwhelmingly the play thing of self-serving billionaires and their corporate scribes, alternatives of integrity are desperately needed, and ScheerPost is one of them. Please support our independent journalism by contributing to our online donation platform, Network for Good, or send a check to our new PO Box. We can’t thank you enough, and promise to keep bringing you this kind of vital news.
You can also make a donation to our PayPal or subscribe to our Patreon.