Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to join Jamaal Bowman for campaign rally ahead of primary
NEW YORK -- Tensions within the Democratic Party about President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war are playing out in a key New York primary race on Tuesday.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman faces Westchester County Executive George Latimer in Tuesday's highly contentious Democratic primary in New York's 16th Congressional District. This is a safe Democratic district, but it encapsulates the fissures that have emerged within the party.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will appear with Rep. Jamaal Bowman at a rally Friday afternoon at MacEachron Park in Hastings-on-Hudson.
And an even bigger rally Saturday at noon at St Mary's Park in the Bronx will feature both Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has declared the race her most pressing electoral priority.
The race headlines a ballot that includes six primaries for the U.S. House, plus races for state Senate, state Assembly and county district attorney.
The ugly primary in the 16th District has exposed the party's deep divide over U.S. policy on Israel, with current and former members of the New York congressional delegation sniping at each other and both candidates here seeking to paint the other as out of touch with and unfit for the district.
Bowman, allied with the progressive group of representatives known as the "squad," represents the left's opposition to Israel's conduct during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and to the Biden administration's support for Israel. Latimer is running on a more centrist, establishment position: His platform affirms Israel's "rights of existence, stability, self-defense, and peace."
The race has already seen eyebrow-raising spending in New York City's expensive media market. The two candidates have spent $3.2 million apiece in the race, according to campaign finance filings. Outside spending has injected an additional $14.4 million into the district, with the United Democracy Project -- the super PAC associated with the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- leading these groups with $11.5 million in support of Latimer.
Bowman has been endorsed by his fellow members of the "squad" and Democratic House leadership. Latimer has been endorsed by former Democratic presidential nominee and Westchester resident Hillary Clinton (though she lives in Chappaqua, which falls in the 17th District), local mayors and council members, and multiple Westchester County legislators.
The winner of the Democratic primary of the 16th congressional district is favored to win the seat in November.
Other New York races to watch
In the 1st Congressional District, Democrats Nancy Goroff and John Avlon are competing for the nomination to face Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, who represents a district that Biden narrowly carried in 2020. Goroff previously led the chemistry department and taught at Stony Brook University. In 2020, Goroff was the Democratic nominee and lost to Republican Lee Zeldin.
Avlon is a former CNN anchor who helped create No Labels, a centrist political group. Goroff boosted her fundraising advantage with a $1.2 million personal loan to her campaign. As of their latest filings, Goroff's campaign had spent $1.7 million on the race while Avlon's campaign had spent $1.2 million. However, a PAC backing Avlon is spending $1.4 million on the race, according to data from AdImpact.
In the 22nd Congressional District, based in Syracuse, Democratic voters will choose between Air Force Veteran Sarah Klee Hood and former public school teacher John Mannion. Klee Hood leads in fundraising and has backing from VoteVets, a progressive group that supports veterans running for office. Mannion represents part of the district - stretching from Syracuse suburbs to Lake Ontario - in the state Senate.
Several Democratic House incumbents are facing under-funded primary challengers in races that are not expected to be competitive. Rep. Claudia Tenney is the only House Republican facing a challenge in Tuesday's primary, though her challenger, Mike Fratto, trails in fundraising, too.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares faces a rematch of his 2012 race against attorney Lee Kindlon. Soares is running on a tough-on-crime message, while Kindlon, an attorney, accuses the incumbent of financial scandals. Kindlon is spending roughly $9,300 on advertising in the primary, according to data from AdImpact, while Soares is spending $4,000. Soares first won the Albany County District Attorney seat in 2004, and won his last primary election in 2020 with 56%, or 18,674 votes.
