Rep. Jamaal Bowman hit out against "dark money" after he was defeated by George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist, in a Democratic primary in suburban New York on Tuesday.
Latimer, a former state lawmaker who has served as Westchester County's executive since 2018, was ahead by 17 points with 88 percent of the vote counted in New York's 16th congressional district.
The closely watched race had become a referendum on progressives' attitudes toward Israel and Latimer's victory means one of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Congress has been ousted. Latimer entered the race after being urged to do so by Jewish leaders and had the heavy financial backing of the pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Bowman is also the first of the progressive lawmakers dubbed the "Squad" to lose an election since the group formed in 2018.
He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack.
And he remained unapologetic about his opposition to Israel's war in Gaza in a concession speech on Tuesday night.
He told supporters that they should be outraged that millions in "dark money" had been spent to "brainwash people into believing something that isn't true."
AIPAC's political action committee spent nearly $15 million on negative ads in its bid to oust Bowman, The Associated Press reported.
"We should not be well adjusted to a sick society," Bowman said. "We should be outraged. We should be outraged when a Super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn't true. We should be outraged about that."
He added: "We should be outraged when, unfortunately, some so-called Democrats are aligning themselves with radical, racist, right-wing Republicans."
Newsweek has contacted Bowman and Latimer's campaigns for comment via email.
An AIPAC spokesperson told Newsweek on Wednesday that "voters in New York elected a pro-Israel progressive Democrat who shares their views and values, and rejected an anti-Israel extremist whose views and record are out of step with the mainstream of the Democratic Party."
In his victory speech, Latimer called for unity.
"We have to fight to make sure that we do not vilify each other, that we remember that we're all Americans, and our common future is bound together," he told supporters in White Plains.
"We argue, we debate, we find a way to come together. This country cannot afford to splinter into piece and every single representative has to understand the necessity for unity."
Update 6/26/24, 3:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 6/26/24, 10:35 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from an AIPAC spokesperson.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, sexual ... Read more
