Congressman Jamaal Bowman
Jeanine Pirro, on the set of her hit Fox News Show The Five
By Dan Murphy
The race for Congress in Westchester between Congressman Jamaal Bowman and County Executive George Latimer will be one of the most watched democratic primaries in the country. Whoever wins the democratic primary for Congress in the 16th district of NY, (lower and mid-Westchester) in June, they will represent the democratic primary in November 2024.
Voters in the 16th district-NY have elected a democratic to represent them for the past 30+ years. Congressman Bowman has represented the 16th for four years. Before that, Congressman Eliot Engel served for 28 years.
The political question that some are asking is, if Bowman defeats Latimer, can a republican beat Bowman? Has Bowman angered, turned off, or disappointed, enough democrats in the 16th district, that they would consider voting republican?
One of our Westchester democratic readers writes, “It has been implied by some far-left Democrats that George Latimer’s primary challenge may weaken Bowman if he is the Democratic nominee in the general election, but the experienced, centrist Latimer may actually be the Democratic Party’s only chance to hold onto this Congressional Seat.
“Imagine if Bowman were the Democratic nominee and the Republican Party nominated former District Attorney and current Fox News panelist Jeanine Pirro.
“I have no idea if Ms. Pirro is planning to run against Jamaal Bowman, but if Donald Trump personally urged her to make the race…explaining how she could be a vital member of his Congressional team if he re-won the White House…do you really think she would decline?
“Granted, that race would have all the subtle, understated dignity of a wrestling match in a steel cage (“Bowman the Showman” vs “Pristine Jeanine” “Going Bonkers in Yonkers!”) with AOC and Laura Ingraham strutting across the square circle holding up cards between rounds and Rachel Maddow and Greg Gutfeld offering incisive sideline commentary, but unlike Dr Miriam Levitt Flisser, a 76-year-old physician and former Mayor of Scarsdale who got 36% of the vote against Bowman in 2022, skilled debater Pirro…backed by substantial contributions from across the country, and even internationally… might actually prevail.
“Republican candidates who nobody ever heard of defeated incumbents with less baggage than Jamaal Bowman to capture several Congressional districts in New York in 2022 that Joe Biden carried in 2020.
“For many Democrats, having to choose between Jamaal Bowman and Jeanine Pirro may be reminiscent of a question baseball broadcaster Vin Scully (I believe) asked his sidekick Joe Garagiola during the 1965 All-Star Game:
Vin queried, ‘if you were a pitcher with the game on the line, would you rather pitch to Willie Mays…or Hank Aaron?’
“And Joe replied, without missing a beat, ‘that’s like asking a guy going to the electric chair…do you prefer AC or DC?”
“Can Democrats really not think ‘Judge Jeanine’ could pick off this allegedly safe seat?
“The Republican Party is clinging to a Congressional majority thinner than a slice of prosciutto at DeCicco’s deli counter, further reduced by the expulsion of pants-on-fire liar George Santos and the Quixotic quitting of Speaker-for-a-day Kevin McCarthy. Hakeem Jeffries can’t wait to order drapes for the Speaker’s office.
“So, George Latimer’s campaign is not only an effort to retain this Congressional seat…but to regain control of Congress. After all, isn’t that what all Democrats…even members of the Squad…should work towards?” end of letter, name withheld.
In 2022, Rep. Bowman got 64.2% of the vote, with Dr Miriam Levitt Flisser with 35.7%. Bowman received 133,567 votes to 74,156 for Flisser. But in a Presidential year, the vote totals will be higher.
If the republican baseline is 36% in the district, can Pirro, or another big-name republican, flip 15% of the vote? That is a tall order, but the two big knocks on Bowman make it a possibility. His stance on Israel and his inability to connect with constituents.
Most believe that Pirro will not walk away from the Fox $$$ to run for Congress. Pirro is a panelist of the Fox TV News-Talk Show “The Five” which is the #1 show on Cable.
But one democrat told us that if it were Bowman against an unknown republican, not Pirro, “I would consider voting for the other candidate, and I think that there are a lot of democrats in the district who feel the same way. That’s why we must elect Latimer.”
We will begin to search for Republicans in the 16th District who may have a chance this November. Email us your suggestions to dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com.
