OAN’s James Meyers
8:47 AM – Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Far-Left “Squad” member Jamal Bowman was defeated on Tuesday night by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in New York’s 16th District Democratic primary.
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Latimer, 70, will be heavily favored to defeat Republican Madeline Brame in the November 5th general election.
“Tonight, we turn the page and we say that we believe in the inclusion of everybody,” Latimer told cheering supporters in White Plains.
Bowman’s four-year House tenure comes to an end after the most expensive congressional primary ever in terms of ad spending, which most believe the race came down to both candidates’ stances on the war in Israel.
The former school principal has accused Israel of genocide and has repeatedly questioned the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s government.
In an interview with Politico, Bowman apologized for denying the horrific rapes of Israeli women during the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas that killed an estimated 1,200 people.
Over the weekend, Politico also quoted the “Squad” member as saying Jews “segregated” themselves from the rest of Westchester, and had “made a decision to do that for their own reasons.”
Overall, $24.8 million was spent by various groups in the race, making it the most expensive House of Representatives primary in history.
Additionally, with 88% of the votes counted on Tuesday evening, Latimer had won more than 58% of the vote, compared to Bowman receiving 42% of the vote.
Meanwhile, Latimer has portrayed himself as a supporter of Israel and has claimed that Hamas is a terrorist organization that cannot be negotiated with.
During his victory speech, he gave a unity message and took aim at extremist views.
“We have to look at the arguments of the far right and the far left, and say you cannot destroy this country with your rhetoric and your arguments.”
In Bowman’s defeat speech Tuesday night in Yonkers, he doubled down on his stance, telling supporters: “We will continue to fight for a free Palestine, and God help us that we live in a better world where when we say ‘Free Palestine,’ it is not anti-Semitic.”
The lawmaker also made a point of shouting out “the Muslim community from Yonkers to San Francisco to Dearborn, Michigan, to St. Louis to Chicago to Long Island to New Jersey [who] surrounded me this entire race with protection, with love, with gratitude and they helped us raise more money than we ever raised before.”
Furthermore, Bowman apologized for his weekend antics alongside other “Squad” member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was re-elected to her seat on Tuesday night for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
Bowman was seen cursing frequently during the rally or some saw it as a concert, with Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez jumping around on stage in front of supporters.
Referencing his weekend antics, Bowman said: “I’m gonna make a public apology for, you know, sometimes using foul language. But we should not be well adjusted to a sick society, we should be outraged.”
Bowman’s supporters were upset by the outcome of what they saw as a bought-and-paid-for primary.
“When the rich and the powerful, you know, sink so much money into it … it’s not unexpected that they will win the race,” said one Bowman backer, Nelson Mar. “It’s disappointing.”
Bowman is also known for pleading guilty on October 26th, to a misdemeanor count of raising a false fire alarm and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and was mandated to write an apology letter to the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.
At the time, Bowman said he “thought the alarm would open the door” and pulled it by “accident,” adding that he “was just trying to get to my vote and the door that’s usually open wasn’t open, it was closed.”
However, security camera footage captured Bowman pulling down two emergency exit signs from the doors before pulling the alarm and then running away.
According to a Capitol Police investigator, security footage showed Bowman “jogging” down a staircase after tripping the alarm and “walking at a normal pace” when exiting onto New Jersey Avenue.
Bowman was also criticized after the Daily Beast revealed that the former school principal had a personal blog that supported conspiracy theories related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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