Could a Jewish voter surge threaten Jamaal Bowman’s reelection?
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) speaks on May 8. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh May 17, 2024
A local Orthodox group aiming to influence the election in New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s tough reelection bid over his increasingly critical stance on Israel said a plan to encourage Jewish voters to cast mail-in ballots in the primary appears to be working.
The group, Westchester Unites, said it urged Jewish voters in the district — through mailers and other means — to request the ballots so they could vote before the June 25 Democratic primary between Bowman and his challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is a staunch supporter of Israel. Tracking responses to their campaign, Westchester Unites estimates that a third of the 6,160 mail-in ballots requested to date is from its target list of likely Jewish voters. Campaign organizers say they are willing to spend up to $1 million to boost voter turnout.
The district, which Bowman has represented for two terms, comprises Southern Westchester County and a small part of the Bronx.
Westchester Unites organizers said they have also helped more than 2,000 voters who were independents or registered with other parties to switch their enrollments to the Democratic Party so they could vote in the primary.
“The strong response we are seeing from Jewish voters in Westchester is a testament to the grassroots organizing effort by Westchester Unites, and a sign that our community is eager to make its voice heard in the primary next month,” said Maury Litwack, chief executive of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, which advocates on behalf of yeshivas and Jewish day schools and formed Westchester Unites.
About 10% of the district’s voters are Jewish.
Litwack estimated that the proportion of Westchester Jewish voters in the district requesting mail-in ballots — about 7% — is about five times higher than the proportion of registered voters in general who have requested them. Westchester Unites sent a mailer targeting Jewish households that read: “With antisemitism on the rise, use your voice. Don’t wait to vote.”
It is unclear what proportion of Westchester Jewish voters in the district voted early in previous elections.
Bowman, 47, has had a strained relationship with Jewish leaders in his district since 2020, when he beat longtime Jewish Congressman Eliot Engel, a stalwart supporter of Israel. In past months he has taken heat locally and nationally for his sustained criticism of Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has reportedly committed to mass spending against a chief member of “The Squad” — a group of left-leaning House members, all critical of Israel, with which Bowman affiliates. J Street, which calls itself “the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans,” and has often endorsed candidates AIPAC opposes, rescinded its endorsement of Bowman in January for “singling out” Israel for blame in the war and accusing it of genocide.
A recent poll, from the Democratic Majority for Israel, which is backing Latimer, showed Bowman trailing by 17 points among registered voters. An internal Bowman campaign poll showed both candidates locked in a dead heat. Jewish support for Bowman could have an impact on this year’s race in the deep-blue district. Bowman won the 2022 Democratic primary, a three-way contest, by a thin margin — 54% of the vote.
He and his left-leaning allies have made AIPAC’s spending a focal point of their campaigns, and teamed up with vehement critics of Israel to rally his base. Bowman has said the pro-Israel lobby controls Latimer, a charge Latimer denies. Earlier this week on a “Vote Save America 2024” organizing call, Bowman said AIPAC, for 30 years before his election, had “full control of this district, just like they now have full control of Congress — as they fund everyone in Congress.”
AIPAC and other supporters of Israel say the accusation is antisemitic, in that it plays into tropes about Jews wielding outsized control over government, media and finance.
AIPAC made its first heavy investment in the race on Thursday. Its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, spent $1.9 million on a TV ad that hits Bowman for breaking with Biden on critical legislation including the bipartisan infrastructure and the debt limit bills, according to data from the ad-tracking company AdImpact. Latimer’s campaign raised more than $1.5 million from donors affiliated with AIPAC, according to recent FEC filings.
Bowman said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that he expects to withstand the challenge and win. He pointed to a poll, released by the Working Families Party, a progressive group backing Bowman, that showed that 69% of voters were more likely to support a candidate who supports a ceasefire.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously indicated that Westchester Unites supports Latimer. As a nonpartisan group, they are not formally backing any candidate.
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