Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, a far-left “Squad” member in a tough primary race, says he has not worried about recent losses by fellow liberal politicians.
“No concerns at all. We always govern and run as if it’s a tie game and two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. So we’re always grinding,” he told The Washington Times about his final sprint to the June 25 primary.
“We love our district. We love the people we serve with. So no concerns,” he said. “We’re just going to continue to do the work and we believe that people will support us.”
Mr. Bowman is among the far-left Democrats swept into the House after President Trump’s 2016 win. Mr. Bowman was elected in 2020 with Democrats who rode the “defund the police” movement into office.
He is now fighting for a third term and suffering a financial disadvantage to his primary opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, in New York’s 16th Congressional District.
He rejected the idea that recent election losses for far-left candidates in Portland, Oregon — where voters rejected progressive District Attorney Mike Schmidt and House candidate Susheela Jayapal — are a warning sign for his brand of politics.
He pointed to Angela Alsobrooks’ win in Maryland’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate as proof that liberals are still beating establishment Democrats.
“Look at this incredible black woman in Maryland, who won that U.S. Senate seat. That was a tremendous race,” he said.
“She had tens of millions of dollars spent against her, but because she is the soil of her community, they came out to support her.”
Mr. Bowman believes that he and fellow squad member Cori Bush of Missouri, also in a tough reelection race, will prevail with grassroots support.
He said that Ms. Bush and himself are “the soil of the community.”
“When children are shot and killed, we show up. When kids are struggling with mental health, we show up. When we need to fight for labor, we show up,” he said. “We show up for the people, and we think that people will show up for us.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.