Tensions among progressives are spilling into public view after former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) waded into one of the most contentious House primaries earlier this week.

Jones, a former darling of the left in the House, endorsed embattled progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-N.Y.) primary opponent in the June 25 race to represent New York’s 16th Congressional District, citing Bowman’s position on Israel as a top reason.

The move has unleashed fury from within his ranks. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) lambasted Jones, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC has rescinded its endorsement of him. The developments come as Jones vies for a seat in a different district in New York this fall.

The fallout has laid bare the divisions on the left as members grapple with the thorny politics of the Israel-Hamas war in a state that could prove pivotal to control of the lower chamber.

“I think New York politics especially rewards a kind of calculating opportunism that Mondaire Jones has perfected,” said one progressive strategist familiar with the race’s dynamics.

“Now he’s kneecapping another progressive out of fear that if he doesn’t, he’ll become a target himself. Mondaire’s main political concern has never been who will best advocate Democratic values, it’s been what Mondaire thinks is best for himself,” the source added.

Progressives in and out of Capitol Hill have soured on Jones, who is seeking a separate seat in the 17th District, after welcoming him into their coalition as fresh talent in 2021. He was elected as part of a group of young and diverse liberal leaders in New York who extended Ocasio-Cortez’s legacy of insurgent........

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