It took almost a month, but a progressive insurgent challenger brought down former Rep. Eliot Engel in the New York Democratic primary, overthrowing the powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in great disgust.
The Associated Press called the race for Jamaal Bowman, a former high school principal and candidate for the first time, on Friday, more than three weeks after the June 23 primary election.
Riding a wave of support from the biggest names on the left, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and First Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Bowman defeated Engel by 15 points. primary margin in the 16th Congressional District of New York, encompassing parts of the Bronx district of New York City and parts of neighboring southern Westchester County.
Many votes in the primaries were cast by mail, and some have yet to be counted.
But an AP analysis of the absentee ballots counted so far indicated Friday that Bowman’s lead is too far from Engel to overcome it.
After the AP made the call, Bowman tweeted, “I’m a black man who was raised by a single mother on a housing project. That story usually doesn’t end in Congress. But today, that 11-year-old boy who was hit by the Police are about to be your next representative. “
Bowman’s victory compares to Ocasio-Cortez’s successful 2018 primary victory over former Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, who created political shock waves.
THE LONG-TERM CONGRESS ENGEL FIGHTS FOR HIS POLITICAL LIFE
Engel, who has served in Congress for more than three decades, has a national profile as the leader of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
But the incumbent was attacked in recent months for spending more time at his home in Potomac, Maryland, than at his apartment in the Bronx. And he was recently put on the defensive after being captured with a live microphone, suggesting that “if I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t mind” speaking at an event in his Congressional district.
Bowman, who is black, began outdoing Engel, who is white, in late May and early June amid protests across the country over police brutality towards minorities and systemic racism caused by the death of George Floyd. .
While fighting for reelection, Engel garnered the backing of prominent establishment figures, including former New York Senator and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, some House Democrats, and the Black Caucus political wing of Congress.
Engel is one of the original sponsors of the House of Democrats police reform bill, which was passed late last month. He has also been a leader in pushing House Democrats to hold the Trump administration accountable and played a role in this year’s impeachment efforts for the president’s dealings with Ukraine.
