MSNBC host Chris Hayes appears to blame pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s embarrassing primary loss on Tuesday. And said without it, the race would be “a close call.”
“[H]I spend a fair amount of time with members [C]Hayes wrote on $14.5 million for the campaign to oust Bowman, a far-left Israel critic who serves in New York’s 16th Congressional District.
Democratic challenger George Latimer was quickly called into the race, with results Wednesday morning showing him with a double-digit lead, a rare, lopsided rebuke of an incumbent by his party’s voters .
Bowman has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians in the Gaza war and has accused Israel of committing genocide in the region. On the campaign trail, Latimer argued that Bowman has lost touch with voters in his district, and Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin pointed out to Hayes that AIPAC is focusing on the race in part because of Bowman’s poor polling performance this year , such as his embarrassing fire alarm.
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MSNBC host claims the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was a deciding factor in the race, endorsing Westchester County Executive George Latimer over Jamaal Bowman Bowman ran for Congress. (Getty Images)
“I believe that without AIPAC this would have been a close race and all the incentives you noted are real and still in play,” Hayes wrote to Salling.
Hayes’ views were met with swift criticism, with critics noting that Bowman’s polling woes had been apparent for months.
Tablet’s Noam Blum wrote to Hayes, “Bowman was already trailing by 17 points before AIPAC aired a commercial in this race.”
“AIPAC can never exist, there are still enough decent people living in Westchester County and the Bronx who are absolutely appalled that Jamaal Bowman mocked GoPro for raping women and slaughtering babies, Think it’s ‘lies’ and ‘propaganda.’ He did it to himself,” National Review’s Jeff Blehar added.
Bowman’s loss to Latimer on Tuesday night moved him to No. 1 Representative So far, either party has been defeated by a primary challenger in the 2024 election cycle. Bowman would also be the first member of the far-left “squad” to lose his seat after Latimer wrested the Democratic nomination from him.
Bowman repeatedly attacked AIPAC during the campaign and said at Saturday’s rally that he would defeat the group. AIPAC has become taboo among anti-Israel progressives, who accuse the association of having too much influence over politicians.
“We’re going to show the power of damn AIPAC, the South Bronx Matrix!” Bowman told the rally, which takes place outside the boundaries of congressional districts. District 16 does not include the South Bronx.
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Bowman has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians in the Gaza war and has accused Israel of committing genocide in the region. Latimer argued on the campaign trail that Bowman had lost touch with his district. (Getty Images)
On Tuesday night, Bowman apologized for “sometimes using foul language” but said “we should be outraged when a dark money super PAC spends $20 million to brainwash people into believing things that are not true.” .
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The campaigns of Bowman and Latimer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
