The most expensive Democratic House primary in history concludes Tuesday, as New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman fights to retain his seat despite massive spending from the pro-Israel lobby aimed at sidelining progressives in Congress.
Polls in the Bronx and Westchester close at 9 p.m., and results are expected Tuesday night. Polling in the race, including one funded by consultants working against Bowman, suggested that he was heading for a loss. Bowman’s internal polling showed him leading by 1 percentage point.
In total, outside groups have spent $23 million on the race to unseat Bowman. More than 60 percent of that money has come from one group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which poured more than $14 million into the race over the course of five weeks. In total, progressive groups backing Bowman spent $1.75 million on the race.
AIPAC’s spending funded ads that clogged TV spots in New York, as well as a barrage of mailers, text messages, and phone calls attacking Bowman and supporting his opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer. The expenditure — unmatched by any other single outside group spending on Democratic primaries this cycle and historically unprecedented — has turned the race into a referendum on the power of the pro-Israel lobby to oust progressives critical of Israel’s human rights abuses from Congress.
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Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him.
AIPAC encouraged Latimer to run against........