Bernie Sanders-Aligned Org Slams Hillary Clinton for Jamaal Bowman Loss

The primary loss suffered by Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman in New York can be pinned on Democratic "elites" like Hillary Clinton, a Bernie Sanders-aligned organization tells Newsweek.

On Tuesday, Bowman became the first Democratic incumbent in Congress to lose his seat after George Latimer, a former state lawmaker currently serving as Westchester County's executive, rode a massive wave of fundraising to knock out the progressive "Squad" member with relative ease.

Latimer garnered approximately 58 percent of votes as of 1:13 a.m. Wednesday, with roughly 88 percent of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race at 9:38 p.m., shortly after polls closed at 9 p.m., alluding to Latimer's strong 26-point lead in Westchester—which accounts for about 90 percent of the district's population.

"Tonight's outcome puts the glaring hypocrisy of Democratic Party elites on full display," Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive organization Our Revolution said in a statement Tuesday night.

"Jamaal Bowman had the moral courage to speak out against his constituents' taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza. As a result, AIPAC and its MAGA Republican-funded super PAC flooded the airwaves with an unprecedented $14.5 million worth of attack ads against him.

"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."

Earlier this month, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Clinton endorsed Latimer and said that her party "needs strong, principled Democrats in Congress more than ever."

Nick Merrill, a spokesperson for Clinton, told Newsweek on Wednesday morning: "Sometimes, you just get fewer votes. The best way to champion democracy is to accept that."

Leading up to the race, Sanders urged New Yorkers to support Bowman—saying on X: "We need leaders in Congress who stand against billionaires buying elections and who fight unapologetically for the working class. Jamaal Bowman is one of those leaders."

Newsweek reached out to Sanders' office and Bowman's campaign via email for comment.

While Latimer thanked his supporters for providing "the first step" in allowing him to make a change in Washington, D.C., Bowman railed against special interests and implored his own supporters to be "outraged" at the electoral outcome.

"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," Bowman said. "We should be outraged when, unfortunately, some so-called Democrats are aligning themselves with radical, racist, right-wing Republicans."

Those "special interests" threw in some $23 million, making it the most expensive House race ever.

A chunk of that money against Bowman came from the national organization American Israel Public Affairs Committee Political Action Committee (AIPAC), which spent roughly $15 million to unseat Bowman due to his views on Israel and the continuing war in Gaza.

AIPAC, which said on X that all 90 Democrats it has endorsed in primaries have won, posted the following statement about Tuesday's results: "AIPAC congratulates @LatimerforNY on his resounding victory over an anti-Israel detractor. This triumph by a strong pro-Israel candidate represents a major victory for the Democratic mainstream that stands with the Jewish state and a defeat for the extremist fringe."

Geevarghese told Newsweek on Wednesday morning that progressive campaigning is challenging when relying on the "old-fashioned way of organizing" in one-on-one settings with voters. He said it becomes more difficult "when you're outmatched so significantly" and "much, much more challenging because the side with the money tends to dominate the media."

"Outside spending on the part of Democratic insiders and the Dem establishment was decisive," he said. "We heard this on the doors, heard this on the phones. People were parroting back the lies and/or distortions that they heard on TV and radio ads about Jamaal Bowman's record," he said.

He referred to it as "Dem-on-Dem violence" that will likely make its way into other primary elections involving Representatives Ilham Omar and Cori Bush. There's no reason for Clinton or other Democrats like Representative Richie Torres (New York's 15th Congressional District) to get involved, he added.

"I think what's dangerous and what the establishment Democratic Party needs to understand is that in order to win in November, they shouldn't piss off progressive voters," Geevarghese said. "And that's what we're seeing. They're systematically targeting Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush and others. That by itself is gonna turn off progressives and create more discontent than there is already for the president."

T.J. McCormack, a Westchester County resident and Republican communications specialist, told Newsweek that the Bowman loss signifies a "bell weather on just how far left suburban Democrats are willing to go."

"They were there for BLM [Black Lives Matter] and sanctuary laws, but the war in the Middle East was the line," he said. "Once Bowman openly questioned the validity of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, he was done."

Jay Oliver, LI News radio host and political commentator, told Newsweek that it could signal a break between far-left and more moderate Democrats.

"With a rally that would make Vince McMahon proud back in WWE days, and with a little help from AOC [Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], it proved it wasn't enough to get Bowman to the finish line," Oliver said. "With that, maybe a little common sense will prevail come November 5."