Exit interview: Jamaal Bowman says he’s ‘proud of all of it’

Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost a brutal primary battle earlier this year to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, becoming the first member of the progressive “Squad” of House Democrats to lose reelection. A former middle school principal, Bowman was first elected to Congress in 2020, becoming the first Black man to represent the 16th Congressional District – which includes suburban Westchester and a sliver of the Bronx. Bowman developed a national reputation as a progressive firebrand, but a combination of factors – including congressional redistricting, backlash to his outspoken criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and his inexplicable decision to pull a fire alarm during a key congressional vote – alienated many of his constituents and cost him his seat in Congress.

City & State caught up with Bowman on his last week in office to discuss his thoughts on local politics, Democrats’ positions on Israel and his own political future. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Reflecting on your time in Congress, what are you most proud of?

I'm proud of all of it, man. Proud to be the first person of color, first Black man in US history to hold this congressional seat, proud to have won a historic election in 2020 against a 31-year, very powerful incumbent, proud of how the community came out that year to support me. I'm proud of serving as the chair initially, then ranking member of the Energy Subcommittee on the Science, Space and Tech Committee. Proud for my opportunity to fight for Build Back Better and everything that was a part of that, which includes universal child care, universal pre-K, historic investments in climate and affordable housing. I'm proud of the very public fight I had with (Kentucky Republican Rep.) Thomas Massie about ending mass school shootings in America.

Why do you think you lost reelection this year? Was it due to pulling the fire alarm, your call for a ceasefire in Gaza, congressional redistricting, racism?

When we won our race in 2020, it was a (more heavily) Black district. The district finally comes out and has its first Black rep, and they take away 200,000 Black people. That should be investigated as to why that happens. So that’s No. 1.

No 2: By doing that, you put 90% of the district in Westchester County and the most active primary voters in Westchester County are quote, unquote, “pro-Israel” voters. So when I called for a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire, and an end to the genocide in Gaza, that motivated that group of voters to come out in very big numbers. 

Then the last part involves the spending that took place during this primary. We had AIPAC – which is funded mostly by right-wing Republican Trump donors – spend a record amount of money against me to get me out of office, simply because I called for a permanent ceasefire. 

We needed much higher turnout in Black and Latino communities, and that is something that working-class candidates like myself have to continue to focus on in our year-round organizing. How do we authentically listen to and learn from and engage Black and Latino working class communities so that we can build political power collectively to make sure we keep the right people in office?

Do you regret voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law?

I have no regrets. We voted against that to hold the line and hold the party and the government accountable towards passing Build Back Better. We didn't get Build Back Better, but we got the inflation Reduction Act, historic investments in climate justice, finally giving us the opportunity to negotiate drug prices, we lowered the cost of insulin to $35 a month. So we passed a historic piece of legislation. 

Our vote against the infrastructure bill was not a vote against infrastructure. We support infrastructure, but we also support the strengthening of the overall economy. And the infrastructure bill by itself does not do that – for many reasons, but one reason is that (most) of the money and the resources for that bill goes towards white men and doesn't support the economic development of our very diverse and very working-class communities. So no, I do not regret that. You know, the fight for overall economic justice and equality continues.

What’s next for you? Are you going back to teaching or staying in politics? Do you want to run for office again, start a super PAC?

All of the above. The liberating aspect of no longer being in Congress formally is now I have an opportunity to be helpful and support my community in a variety of ways. There's many ways to teach and be an educator and lead as it relates to education. There's many ways to impact electoral politics. I plan to be a part of that from a community organizing perspective and a fundraising perspective. And yes, there is a good chance I will run for office again, at some point, depending on the right situation and where that goes.

I'm going to be hyperlocal initially in my engagement. I live in Yonkers. Yonkers is an incredible city with incredible people, and it has the power to determine who our next countywide representatives are and who the governor of New York state is, and so I look forward to just engaging the people in Yonkers, very directly and closely. I also look forward to engaging the people of the Bronx as well, because the Bronx is right next to Yonkers, and it's another place where … the people have so much untapped power and potential, and they've been ignored by elected officials for far too long. It's time to build that power in places like Yonkers in the Bronx, across the city and state and across the country.

Reps. Mike Lawler and Ritchie Torres have hinted they may run for governor against Gov. Kathy Hochul. Do you think that either of them could win?

Yeah, I think they both can win if we don't do the things that I'm talking about should be done. My hope is that the more people get engaged, the more people get involved, the less likely we are to have people like Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler win a higher elected office, because neither one of them, based on my observations and experience with them, have shown the leadership or the vision that we need for working-class people in our state. So that is why we need to make sure everyone is involved and engaged, because if not, either one of them could win.

Let’s talk about Israel. Both you and Rep. Cori Bush have been particularly outspoken in your calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel, and you both lost reelection. Going forward, what do you think the future of Democrats’ position on Israel will be?

The more establishment Democrats, I believe, will continue to support Israel without critique or compromise, because I think much of their political careers has been built on that support. I think the majority of the American people and younger, newer elected officials will not support Israel without critique. I think the issue is not the support of Israel; the issue is the support of Israel unequivocally. That’s the problem. 

You have a situation now – not even now, go back to before Oct. 7, and Israel was designated an apartheid state by Amnesty International, the UN, B’Tselem and many others. The occupation of the West Bank is and has been illegal for quite some time. And now you have Amnesty International stating that Israel is causing a genocide. I think people forget this. After Oct. 7, you know, Benjamin Netanyahu pretty much said out loud – him and the leadership – that they were going to commit war crimes. He said it right after Oct. 7 when he talked about cutting off food and water and electricity. Those are war crimes. The use of white phosphorus happened, I believe, within the first or second week of the conflict. That is a war crime.

So I just want us all to acknowledge what has happened for 75 years to get us to this point, what is happening now and what we need to do going forward. The safety and security of the people of Israel is directly connected to the safety and security of the people of Palestine. We need a free Palestine. And obviously, right now, we need an end to the genocide. We need humanitarian aid to get in there. We need Benjamin Netanyahu to be held accountable, and we need the state of Israel to be held accountable. Part of that accountability is making sure we have a Palestinian state that is fully free. If we don’t have that, we shouldn’t send them any weapons or aid anymore. That’s my opinion.

Do you think progressives will be scared off from that position, given what happened to you and Bush?

I hope not. I don't think so. If they call themselves progressives, I think they're going to be clear on where they stand on the issue of Gaza and Palestine. Again, I just want to emphasize this. This is not about being anti-anything, right? This is about human rights. We support the human rights of everyone. So it's not even about Israel. It's about the human rights of ending the genocide in Sudan. This is about ending child slave labor in the Congo. This is about a just foreign policy rooted in human rights. That's it. That's all we're talking about. And everyone should be for that, and everyone should also be against us sending tens of billions of dollars overseas for war and genocide when we cannot afford to pay our bills here.

What is your message to your Jewish constituents in Westchester who hear your calls for a “free Palestine” and criticism of Israel and feel it is antisemitic or threatening to them?

With all due respect, I mean, that's completely wrong. We are impacted by what's happening with those in closest proximity to us. If we think the safety and security of the people of Israel is dependent upon the apartheid of Palestinians and the military occupation of the Palestinians, I think that's wrong, and that's going to lead to continued conflict and harm for all people. I think it's very disappointing that, unfortunately, there are many who believe that. I don't believe that the only way I could be safe as a Black man in America, for example, is if some other group is oppressed, so yeah, I disagree very strongly with that position.