U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), after experiencing a significant defeat in a highly expensive congressional primary against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, is reportedly seeking financial support to address his campaign debt.
Bowman’s loss, attributed in part to his pro-Palestine stance and opposition to Israeli military actions, led to substantial funding from pro-Israel groups, including a $14.5 million expenditure by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
In a recent email, Bowman noted the severe financial repercussions of the campaign, stating that AIPAC’s spending against him was unprecedented and declaring his campaign “in the red.”
“AIPAC spent more money against us than any other House primary – ever. I was public enemy number one and they spent almost twenty millions dollars to stop us,” the congressman said.
“But that puts us in a bit of a predicament right now. After tallying up the spends, we’re ‘in the red.’ It would be an incredible help to our team if you could help us retire our campaign debt by chipping in a few dollars now,” he added.
Overall, Bowman spent $5.3 million on the primary, while Latimer spent $5.6 million.
As of July, Bowman’s campaign reported over $373,000 in cash on hand but had debts exceeding $141,000.
His defeat follows similar outcomes for other progressive members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Cori Bush and a close primary for Rep. Ilhan Omar.
