Progressives in New York say Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s challenge to sitting Rep. Jamaal Bowman could splinter Democrats and hinder the party’s efforts to take control of the House of Representatives next year.
But Latimer, a Democrat, isn’t having it: He notes Bowman himself challenged a longtime Democratic incumbent just three years ago.
In an interview with Gothamist, Working Families Party co-chair Ana Maria Archila questioned why Latimer was running against Bowman rather than focusing his efforts on another major race in his county: The push to topple freshman Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican who is one of the Democrats’ top targets for 2024.
“George Latimer has been a friend of the Working Families Party for years, which is why it is so disappointing that in this moment, he’s choosing to not use his resources, his time, his energy to protect working families, but rather to do sort of an opportunistic move against Bowman,” Archila said.
In past races, Latimer had the endorsement of the WFP, the third-party influential with progressive Democrats. But that’s not the case in 2024: The party has already endorsed Bowman — a member of the “Squad,” the informal group of some of Congress’ most progressive members — giving him its seal of approval late last week before Latimer entered the race.
Speaking with Gothamist, Latimer, 70, said he knows how some on the left flank of his party are portraying his challenge: An older, out-of-touch white man from the Democratic establishment trying to take out Bowman, 47, a younger, Black progressive. And he doesn’t agree with it.
“It’s very difficult for me to have somebody tell me, ‘Well, you know, George, you’re a white guy, he’s a Black guy and, you know, the demographics here …,” Latimer said. “Well, yeah, we’re different. But what’s the record that I have? Or as Dr. King would say, don’t judge me by the color of my skin, judge me by the content of my character. What’s the…
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