MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — Bernie Sanders has lined up on one side of the race, Hillary Clinton on the other. A Democratic House primary in New York is in many ways a redux of the 2016 presidential primary — with much of the familiar vitriol. Tuesday’s election between progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and centrist challenger George Latimer — which has attracted the most ad spending of any House primary in history — has re-exposed fault lines from that bitterly fought race eight years ago and highlighted the gaping divide in the Democratic Party over the Israel-Hamas war. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive it weekdays. Bowman, one of the fiercest critics of Israel in Congress, is fighting for his political life as he tries to fend off an onslaught of attack ads and win a third term. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC tied to the powerful pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), alone has poured nearly $15 million into ads to oust Bowman and elect Latimer, the Westchester County executive who has spent more than three decades in local politics. That spending comes in a diverse district north of Manhattan that mixes urban and suburban areas and is home to one of the most significant Jewish American populations in the country. As they criss-crossed New York’s 16th District in the final stretch of the race, Bowman and Latimer acknowledged that the Israel-Hamas war and record spending have made this a national race. “Do you want to send an educator back to Congress who spent his entire life serving children and families and babies in our community and uplifting the working class?” Bowman, a former middle school principal in the Bronx, told NBC News. “Or do you want a career politician who is funded by right-wing Republican billionaires, literally buying our democracy? The choice is crystal clear.” Latimer has also sought to strike clear contrast, both in substance and tone, describing himself at one point as more “diplomatic” at a Monday campaign stop. Bucking Bowman’s allegation that his potential success Tuesday would be due to AIPAC’s involvement, Latimer told reporters at an event with Black faith leaders: “We had some internal polling data before a dime was spent on this race and the initial positive-negative comparisons that I had and the incumbent ... had me ahead at the outset. So if anybody says, ‘Oh, you spent this much money, that’s why you won,’ that wouldn’t be accurate. We were ahead at the very outset.” “He said, ‘I wanna give you a choice, I want to give you something different,’” Latimer told NBC News on Monday, referencing Bowman’s 2020 challenge to longtime Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel. “So I don’t see why my stepping forward is any different now.” Read more ahead of Tuesday’s primary → |