Progressive Jamaal Bowman defeats longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in Democratic primary

(Image credit: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

The results are finally in.

Jamaal Bowman, a middle school principal and progressive, has officially defeated Rep. Eliot Engel in the Democratic race to represent the Bronx and parts of Westchester County in New York. Results had been pointing in Bowman's favor since the June 23 election, and with 100 percent of precincts reporting on Friday, Bowman was declared the winner with 55.5 percent of the vote to Engel's 40.4 percent.

Engel has held his seat for more than 30 years, was the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, and received endorsements from top Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Bowman. His victory has been compared to Ocasio-Cortez's triumph over another longtime New York Democrat in 2018.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Bowman campaigned to the left of Engel, and called him out for not returning to his district during the coronavirus pandemic. When Engel eventually did come back, he was caught on a hot mic saying he "wouldn't care" about speaking at a press conference about racial justice protests "if I didn't have a primary."

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.