Jamaal, head for the (fire exit)!

George Latimer, Westchester County executive, defeated Jamaal “Squad’ member Bowman in the Democratic primary for the 16th district on Tuesday night.

Latimer will be favored in the general election on Nov. 5, to defeat Republican Madeline Brame to represent the Bronx and Westchester constituency, which is a deep blue.

Latimer said to cheering White Plains supporters, “We turn the page tonight and say that we are committed to inclusion for everyone.”

He added: “It does not matter what your age is, what religion you follow, or whether you are a left- or right-handed person, or whether you like the Mets or Yankees. Our inclusiveness in Westchester County, that’s how we govern our people.” You can’t ruin this country with your arguments and rhetoric. “We must have unity.”

Bowman’s four year tenure in the House will end after the most expensive primary campaign ever, measured by ad expenditure. This race pitted pro Bowman groups such as the Justice Democrats and Working Families Party with an alliance of moderates who were turned off by Bowman’s positions on Israel.

After the initial results from the Bronx area of the district were announced, Bowman had a commanding lead. He received 83% of votes.

Westchester precincts, however, reported a resounding vote in favor of Latimer. Latimer was leading Bowman by 55.7% to 44.33% with 71% of the estimated votes tabulated at 10:50 pm.

Latimer had a coalition of well-funded supporters, including the United Democracy Project (a super PAC associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC), which spent a staggering 14 million dollars in the race. Another cryptocurrency group, Fair Shake, also funded $2 million of ads.

The race became a referendum about the Israel-Hamas conflict and Bowman’s comments made in public regarding the Jewish state and its followers.

Bowman claimed that Israel was committing “genocide in Gaza” during an interview last week with Brian Lehrer of WNYC.

Bowman apologized belatedly in the same interview for denying that Hamas raped Israeli women during its Oct. 7 attack, which killed approximately 1,200 people – including 33 Americans.

Politico reported that Bowman said that Jews “segregated themselves” from the rest Westchester and “made the decision to do so for their own reasons”, drawing the ire South Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, (D-NY).

Torres wrote on X Sunday: “There is a word to describe this scapegoating. It’s antisemitism.”

Bowman’s campaign reached its lowest point the Saturday before the primary, when he promised to “show AIPAC the power the motherf-king South Bronx”, during a frantic rally with fellow “Squad”, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Bowman reaffirmed his position in his concession speech in Yonkers on Tuesday night. He told supporters: “We’ll continue to fight for free Palestine and God help us, that we live a better life where we can say, “Free Palestine,” without being antisemitic.”

The lawmaker made it a point to thank “the Muslim Community from Yonkers, San Francisco, Dearborn, Michigan to St. Louis, Chicago, Long Island, New Jersey, and St. Louis, who surrounded me with protection, love, gratitude, and helped us raise more funds than we have ever raised before.”

Bowman apologized publicly for his weekend behavior, saying: “I know I’ve used foul language at times.” We should not be well adapted to a sickening society. Instead, we should be outraged.

Bowman’s backers were angry at the result of what they perceived as a primary that was bought and paid for.

Nelson Mar, a Bowman supporter, said: “When the wealthy and powerful, you’ll know, sink such a lot of money into it, it is not surprising that they will win.” “It’s disappointing.”

Susan Bonadonna, another supporter said: “It is just unfair how much money probably affected it.”

Latimer was not only aided by AIPAC’s financial support, which bombarded Bowman with millions in attack ads, but also by an extraordinary grassroots organization effort by rabbis and Jewish community members in the district who were repulsed by Bowman’s open disregard for Israel, in the face rising antisemitism.

Mark Mellman of Democratic Majority for Israel wrote in a press release that “George Latimer’s victory and Jamaal bowman’s defeat proved in dramatic fashion, being pro-Israel was not only wise policy but also smart political.”

The Teach New York Coalition/Westchester United — a group affiliated with the Orthodox Jewish Union — helped mobilize congregants at three dozen synagogues in Westchester to vote in the primary. Although the initiative was “nonpartisan,” it was clear that the sentiment was anti-Bowman and pro-Latimer.

Maury Litwack, founder and CEO of Teach New York, said: “The turnout that we have generated will be a template for Jewish communities throughout the country.”

Rabbi Evan Hoffman was also a key player in the voter mobilisation effort. He is the past president of Westchester Board of Rabbis, and the head of Anshe Sholom Synagogue, located in New Rochelle.

He said that “100%” his congregation voted for Latimer.

The rabbi stated that Bowman was against Israel, and more subtly to the Jews of his own district.

Bowman, who was a high school principal before his election, embarrassed the 16th district in other ways after his election in 2020. He then aligned himself to the far-left group that included Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

Bowman was censured on Dec. 7 by his House colleagues, making him the 27th member of the House to receive a censure in this century. He had pulled a fire alarm at a Capitol Hill building in an attempt to delay a vote that would have avoided a government shut down.

He agreed to pay $1,000 in fines and to write a letter of apology to the US Capitol Police chief.

Bowman claimed that at the time he had “thought that the alarm would open” the door and “accidentally” pulled it. He added that he was “just trying to get my vote, and the usual open door wasn’t opened, it was shut.”

Bowman was captured on camera removing two emergency exit signs before pulling the alarm and running away.

An investigator from the Capitol Police who investigated the incident stated that other security footage shows Bowman “jogging down” a staircase and “walking normally” as he exits onto New Jersey Avenue.

Bowman then passed seven Capitol Police Officers without informing them of his “accident.” This forced the evacuation of the building for over an hour, according to the investigation.