The primary for New York’s 16th congressional district, which takes place on Tuesday, has drawn record-breaking spending, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) and a crypto-currency Super Pac behind the lion’s share of the funding.

The two are battling to represent a district that spans parts of the Bronx and Westchester county. Latimer is leading in polling, and if he wins, he will be the first challenger to successfully unseat a member of the progressive “Squad”.

The huge haul of outside spending – most of it funding ads attacking Bowman and supporting Latimer – underscores Bowman’s precarious position as a high-profile “Squad” member whose criticism of Israel and outspoken support for Palestinian rights has drawn the ire of the pro-Israel lobby.

But the race is more than a referendum on Israel-Palestine policy. It’s also a test of the fledgling progressive wing of the Democratic party, whose ranks Bowman joined after winning an upset primary victory in 2020 and defeating former representative Eliot Engel, an incumbent who had held the office since 1989.

Among Bowman’s highest-profile supporters are the senator Bernie Sanders and the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (known as AOC), who will appear at a rally on Saturday to turn out voters for the incumbent. Meanwhile, Latimer has earned the support of the former secretary of state and Democratic party establishment stalwart Hillary Clinton.

  • @Serinus
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    -66 months ago

    Yes, The DNC famously doesn’t care how maybe Republicans are in Congress.

    Remember the name of this commenter, because he constantly posts the same shit.

    • @Ensign_Crab
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      English
      66 months ago

      The DNC famously doesn’t care how maybe Republicans are in Congress.

      They literally don’t. It’s not what they’re chartered to do. The DSCC and DCCC focus on congress. They’re the ones who prop up centrists while pulling the rug out from under progressives, even if that results in maga chuds holding seats that could have been held by Democrats.