Jamaal Bowman, a former teacher backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, has toppled 16-term Democratic congressman Eliot Engel in the race for New York’s 16th district, marking a major victory for the progressive wing of the party.
Bowman had led Engel and candidate Christopher Fink since the July 6 primary, but the Associated Press had not called the race until Friday. In the end, Bowman defeated Engel with 55% of the vote, a margin of approximately 12,000 votes, when the race was called. Bowman had declared victory earlier this month when the in-person voting ended.
Bowman’s victory over Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, is a surprising victory for progressives who rallied around Bowman in the primaries. Bowman was a kind of progressive love, who won the support of standard-bearers like Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Warren, as well as outside liberal groups like MoveOn and Our Revolution.
Meanwhile, Engel had been endorsed by some party party figures, such as Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Congressman Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black Democrat. rank in Congress.
In a campaign memo, Bowman’s campaign manager Luke Hayes wrote: “Jamaal’s victory has been compared to AOC’s in 2018, but the big difference is that this time, they saw us coming. They took nothing for granted and spent more than $ 5 million against us. They issued millions of dollars in attack ads, called for all political favors, and stopped. And we still win. “
The race somehow recalled Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise victory over House Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives Joe Crowley in 2018. Ocasio-Cortez was the long-range progressive favorite in that primary.
Hayes described Bowman as a “brilliant, authentic, caring, fun, empathetic, passionate and hard-working candidate” in the memo that celebrates victory.
Bowman’s elementary school essentially secures his future in Congress. Voters in the district have voted decisively for decades for the Democratic nominee for Congress and the President.
Engel’s ouster is also a much-needed victory for progressives after Bernie Sanders and Warren lost the Democratic primaries for president to more centrist Joe Biden.
“From the beginning, we anchored our campaign in the fight for racial and economic justice. We spoke the truth, about the police, about systemic racism, about inequality, and it resonated in every part of the district, “Bowman said in a statement to reporters.” We bring together people of different races, classes, religions, genders, to fight for justice, to fight for equality and to create a country that works for all of us. We did not let them divide us. And we did it all without accepting a penny of corporate Pacs or lobbyists “
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