Jamaal Bowman’s Opponent Can’t Stop Making Weird Comments About Race

George Latimer made a bizarre comment to denigrate incumbent Representative Jamaal Bowman, whose seat he’s working to oust, claiming Bowman has an “ethnic benefit” against him. The comment is just the latest in a string of race-baiting comments Latimer has made against Bowman in a desperate attempt to win his seat in the most expensive House primary in history.

Latimer’s comment came during an interview with Punchbowl News released Thursday where Latimer said, “Is [Bowman] going to get at least 40 percent of the vote? Yes. Does he have an obvious ethnic benefit? Yes. Will he get the people who are furthest to the left? Yes. But once you get beyond a couple of constituencies that he has strength in, he’s weak everywhere else.”

This isn’t Latimer’s first bigot-coded remark to swipe at Bowman. During a debate last week, Latimer claimed Bowman’s “constituents are in Dearborn,” a remark widely interpreted to be an anti-Arab and Islamophobic nod to Dearborn, Michigan’s Arab-majority population.

Bowman, who is Black, represents New York’s 16th congressional district, which is 20.4 percent Black and over 40 percent white. Four days before Latimer’s latest comment, Bowman slammed him, saying, “George Latimer’s rhetoric is filled with dogwhistles, but his results are even worse: a decades-long history of obstructing federal desegregation orders.”

Latimer’s comment drew fierce backlash, with critics pointing out Latimer’s history of slow-walking desegregation in Westchester County and his tendency to claim the only reason people support Bowman is because he’s Black.

During their debate on June 11, Latimer accused Bowman of only ever talking about Black constituents, saying, “You don’t mention people who are not Black or brown. There’s a whole district, Jamaal, that you’ve ignored, and the district knows you’ve ignored it.” Latimer’s comment came in response to Bowman accusing Latimer of ignoring Black and brown constituents in Westchester, keenly noting, “Just because you have a few Black friends doesn’t make you anti-racist.”