Far-left “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman is likely to lose badly in the upcoming June 25 primary election, trailing his opponent George Latimer by 17 points, according to a new poll.
The poll, done by Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill, shows Latimer, the Westchester County Executive, with 48% support from Democratic primary voters, while Bowman has just 31%. The remaining 21% of voters are undecided. This district includes much of Westchester County and parts of the north Bronx.
The Israel-Hamas war might be affecting the race, the survey found. Latimer, 70, supports Israel, while Bowman, 48, called Israel an “apartheid” state in November and accused Israel of lying about Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. He later took back his comment.
According to the poll, 45% of voters agree with Latimer’s views on the war, while 29% side with Bowman, and 26% are unsure. Many voters want the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to end, no matter their stance on Israel.
The survey shows 43% of voters are less likely to support a candidate who opposes a cease-fire in Gaza, while 37% are more likely to support such a candidate. The other 20% have no opinion.
Half of the Democratic voters think the US is spending too much on aid to Israel, a third think the amount is right, and 17% think the US is spending too little. Regarding aid to Palestinians in Gaza, 46% think the US is spending too little, 34% the right amount, and 21% too much.
Latimer, a moderate with a long political career in Westchester since the late 1980s, is generally more popular than Bowman, who is supported by the Democratic Socialists of America, the poll found. Sixty-five percent of voters view Latimer favorably, while 23% view him unfavorably, and 12% are undecided.
Bowman, on the other hand, has a 51% favorable rating, with 43% unfavorable and 6% not knowing him. Latimer is leading among white voters by 42 points, 62% to 20%, while Bowman is ahead among Black voters by 14 points, 48% to 34%. Hispanic voters are evenly split at 36% each. Younger voters tend to favor Bowman, while older voters prefer Latimer.
Voters are also concerned about practical issues like the economy (22%), housing affordability (21%), threats to democracy (14%), healthcare (13%), crime (12%), and immigration (6%).
The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey was conducted from June 6-8 with 425 likely Democratic voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points. Voters were contacted by cell phone and automated landline calls.
A previous poll in April by the pro-Latimer group Democratic Majority for Israel also showed Latimer leading Bowman by 17 points, 52% to 35%.
Latimer reacted to the new poll, saying, “As encouraging as this is, the only poll that really counts starts with Early Voting this Saturday, when voters choose between my proven track record of delivering real progressive results versus the incumbent’s divisiveness, dishonesty, hostility toward his constituents, and votes against Democratic priorities.”
Early voting starts Saturday.
Bowman, a former Bronx middle-school principal, has faced controversies that have hurt his standing, including being censured by the House in December for pulling a fire alarm to delay a vote. He pleaded guilty to falsely pulling the alarm and paid a $1,000 fine, saying it was a mistake.
Bowman is part of the far-left “Squad” in the House, which includes New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush.