Debate devolves into snark-fest between Bowman and Latimer

NEW YORK — Sniping, snark and incessant interruptions defined the first televised debate in one of the country’s most competitive primaries Monday night — underscoring the pivotal role the Israel-Hamas war is playing in Democratic politics.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of The Squad, and centrist George Latimer spent the first nine minutes of the hour-long matchup clashing on U.S. support for Israel as they compete for votes in New York’s heavily Jewish 16th Congressional District.

During the fiery face-off in a suburb just north of New York City, Bowman also charged that Latimer sees him as “an angry Black man” and each Democrat linked the other to Republicans.

“George Latimer has taken money from AIPAC, who also supports Republican candidates,” Bowman said. The pro-Israel lobby contributed more than $600,000 to Latimer’s campaign as of February, according to federal election filings.

“You want to go to Washington and play nice with Marjorie Taylor Greene?” the two-term representative asked Latimer at another point.

“No, you vote with her so why shouldn’t you play nice with her?” Latimer shot back, an apparent reference to Bowman’s vote against blocking the hard-right Georgia Republican’s failed effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The bitter primary comes two years after Republicans seized control of the House in part due to their victories in reliably blue New York State. And while this seat is almost certain to remain Democratic, the contest is testing the limits of both support for and critique of Israel within factions of the party.

Bowman, a progressive Democrat, is one of Congress’ most outspoken critics of Israel. That has made him one of its most endangered.

Money has poured into the race between Bowman and Latimer, the executive of Westchester County, in no small part because of the central role the ongoing war in Gaza is playing in the primary.

The seat they’re vying for — which includes part of the Bronx and suburban Westchester County — is home to a sizable Jewish community and growing Arab population. And Bowman and Latimer are very far apart on U.S. support for the Israeli government as fighting in Gaza wears on.

Bowman is staunchly pro-Palestinian, saying the world can have a “free Palestine” while fighting antisemitism; Latimer has defended Israel’s military strategy and is among the top beneficiaries of AIPAC’s largesse this cycle.

In the debate hosted by News 12 Monday in White Plains, Bowman invoked a leading Jewish Democrat as he defended positions he’s been assailed on.

“I align myself with Senator Chuck Schumer, Benjamin Netanyahu should not be the leader of Israel at this time,” the representative said, citing 100,000 dead or injured civilians in Gaza. “He is causing more harm to Israel than good.”

Latimer, meanwhile, declined to criticize Netanyahu, saying, “I don’t think it’s a question of who’s in power. I think the Israeli people need to see that they have a partner for peace, and they don’t see a partner for peace right now.”

Both candidates said they support a two-state solution and believe in Israel’s right to exist, but Bowman said he does not see “from the river to the sea” as hate speech while Latimer condemned the rallying cry of many pro-Palestinian demonstrators across the world.

The pair was fairly civil while the debate focused on the Israel-Hamas war, but the discourse quickly devolved into sniping.

While Latimer noted that Bowman had effectively sided with Greene against Johnson in last week’s vote, he also referenced how Bowman has confronted and yelled at the firebrand Donald Trump surrogate.

“You need to talk to them as normal people; you can’t preach and scream at them on the steps of the Capitol,” Latimer told Bowman, then addressing the audience of voters. “He’s ineffective for this very reason.”

Bowman appeared to have heard enough.

“The angry Black man, the angry Black man,” he alleged of Latimer’s remark. “It’s the southern strategy in the north.”

And the opponents took turns charging that the other didn’t know their colleagues.

“He doesn’t even know the name of the mayor of Rye Brook, he doesn’t know the name of the mayor of Harrison, the name of the mayor of Irvington,” said Latimer, who has been at the helm at Westchester County since 2018.

The challenger then bungled the name of a New York member of Congress when he defended AIPAC, the target of many Bowman campaign fundraising pleas.

“AIPAC supports Hakeem Jeffries, ‘Greg Meng,’ Ritchie Torres, Adriano Espaillat and most of the Congress Congressional Black Caucus,” Latimer said.

Bowman responded through gritted teeth, “It is Grace Meng and Greg Meeks.”