The polls in New York haven’t closed yet as I write this but it feels like people have a sense the Rep. Jamaal Bowman is going to lose. Here’s the former governor of New York from earlier today:
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Jamaal Bowman should pull the fire alarm again because he is going to be smoked by @LatimerforNY today.
The message is clear: anti-semitism in any and all forms will not be tolerated in New York. And you can’t call yourself a progressive without making progress.
Vote! 🗳️
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) June 25, 2024
He’s not the only person making this prediction, but the unkindest cut of all may have come from fellow squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC was recently seen putting on a show for a very small crowd to prop up Bowman over the weekend.
#NYC Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez AOC and Rep Bowman DANCE AND RAP on stage during their Bronx rally today at St Mary’s Park. pic.twitter.com/ri3sVkiqcV
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 22, 2024
But it appears AOC has had enough. Maybe the stench of imminent failure is getting to her. She was supposed to meet up with Bowman again this afternoon but had a sudden change of plans.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had been slated to appear at the Edenwald Community Center polling site at 3:30 p.m. alongside colleague and fellow “Squaddie” Jamaal Bowman.
However, at around 4 p.m., Ocasio-Cortez spokesperson Sidney Johnson announced the congresswoman would not appear, citing a “shift in schedule.”
“It’s not going to happen for her,” Johnson told The Post. “She won’t be around. Not here.”
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AOC was also supposed to attend a Bowman’s watch party in Yonkers. It sounds like that isn’t happening either. Johnson, her spokesperson, said “We haven’t made any decisions yet.” In a subsequent call an unnamed member of AOC’s team said she would be attending her own watch party with volunteers tonight.
As for Bowman, he kept marching around the district with an actual marching band.
Bowman, wearing a t-shirt proclaiming, “Showing up for racial justice,” soon took command of the marching band and led them around the block where he greeted New Yorkers, snapped selfies — and shouted in voters’ ears, as the marching band’s ear-popping display forced him to yell.
His 30-minute appearance was riddled with chaos. Not only was Bowman forced to shout at everyone whom he interacted with, he turned away a Post reporter, declining comment, in response to a simple question of how Election Day was going, referring them to his media team.
Feel the energy:
With just a few hours left until polls close in #NY16, @JamaalBowmanNY is currently marching thru the Edenwald neighborhood of the Bronx with a drum line, talking to voters pic.twitter.com/4t265iRE86
— Kevin Frey (@KevinFreyTV) June 25, 2024
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Finally, the NY Post spoke to a few voters including one former Bowman voters who had decided to vote for Latimer instead:
Alvin White, 58, told The Post he’s voting for Democratic moderate George Latimer as he entered the Edenwald Community Center in the Bronx to cast his vote after finishing work around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening…
White was “not comfortable” with a lot of Bowman’s positions on political issues, he said — specifically souring on the incumbent congressman when he split with President Biden on the White House’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. White said he was convinced Bowman was the “wrong person” for the job.
It doesn’t look good or feel good for Bowman but you never really know until the polls close and the vote tallies come in. As I write this, that’s less than a half hour away.
