Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) is trailing Westchester County Executive George Latimer, according to new polling, in a tense Democratic primary that has been defined by support for Israel.
Bowman is 17 points behind in a survey by Emerson College Polling, PIX11, and the Hill released on Tuesday. Thirty-one percent of voters in New York’s 16th Congressional District back the Democratic incumbent compared to 48% of voters who say they’d back Latimer. Another 21% of voters remain undecided.
The poll also finds that voters view Latimer more favorably than Bowman, with 65% of voters holding a favorable view of the Democratic challenger compared to 51% who said the same about the incumbent. On the other side, 43% view Bowman unfavorably, while only 23% have an unfavorable view of Latimer, according to the poll.
The survey comes just two weeks before the state is set to hold its primary elections on June 25, with Bowman’s reelection bid one of the most precarious of the incumbent Democrats.
Bowman has stirred anger among some pro-Israel groups for his repeated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and his vote against a resolution condemning support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations on college campuses. Bowman also voted against a separate resolution condemning support for Hamas and reaffirming U.S. support for Israel.
Bowman’s New York district, which includes southern Westchester County and a small part of the northern Bronx, has a large Jewish population, leading the Israel-Hamas war to become a central campaign issue.
His votes have prompted some prominent groups such as the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee to endorse Latimer over Bowman, highlighting a divide among members of the party. The primary became even more tense after former Democratic New York Rep. Mondaire Jones threw his support behind Latimer earlier this month.
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Bowman also faced criticism from his GOP colleagues last year after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of falsely pulling a fire alarm in one of the congressional office buildings shortly before lawmakers were scheduled to meet for votes on avoiding a government shutdown.
New York’s 16th District is a reliably Democratic seat, meaning whoever wins the primary later this month is favored to win in November. The Washington Examiner contacted both campaigns for comment.