Progressive Bowman ousts Engel in New York primary

Progressive Democrat Jamaal Bowman defeated longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in New York’s Democratic primary, pulling off a major anti-establishment win.

The win was widely anticipated after Bowman had built a double-digit lead on June 23, when the primary took place, though the counting of mailed-in ballots delayed the final results for more than three weeks.

Bowman’s victory confirmation on Friday provides progressives a major boost after a mixed year of results, showcasing the strides made by the left in reshaping the Democratic Party. The district, New York’s 16th, is heavily Democratic and Bowman is almost certain to coast to victory in November.

It also marks another instance in which a senior lawmaker in the state is ousted in a primary after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) stunned the political establishment by defeating former Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in 2018. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, was in a tight race in a primary pitting her against Suraj Patel.

Bowman had gained big momentum in polling and fundraising toward the end of the campaign amid criticism of Engel’s absence from the district and the protests against racial injustice roiling the country.

A poll conducted by the progressive firm Data for Progress showed Bowman up 10 points over Engel. Bowman’s campaign also announced the candidate raised $2 million ahead of the primary from more than 65,000 individual donors.

Additionally, he received the support of major progressive figures, including Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Engel faced criticism from Bowman and other Democrats who said he was not often present in the district during much of the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has faced backlash for his foreign policy platforms. Engel voted for the Iraq War and opposed the Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration.

The longtime congressman also took heat after he was captured on camera at an event against racial injustice pressing to speak while saying he wouldn’t have cared had he not faced a primary challenge.

First elected to Congress in 1988, Engel has been a fixture in New York politics since the 1970s. In the final weeks before the primary, as Bowman gained momentum in the race, prominent Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rushed to Engel’s aid.  

But Bowman’s anti-establishment message and connection with the Black Lives Matter movement ultimately proved to be a winning strategy. 

Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of the progressive group Justice Democrats, which endorsed Bowman, touted him as one of the first candidates “swept into Congress by the movement in the streets right now.”

“This win proves that a Black man who survived poverty and police violence at 11 years old has the power to transform his community and country,” Rojas said. 

Engel is the fifth incumbent congressman to fall in a primary this year, following in the footsteps of fellow Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.) and three GOP members, Reps. Steve King (Iowa), Denver Riggleman (Va.) and Scott Tipton (Colo.). 

— Updated at 12:12 p.m.