Progressive Jamaal Bowman defeats longtime Rep. Eliot Engel in Democratic primary
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.
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.
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."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
- 
Margaret Atwood’s ‘deliciously naughty’ memoirIn the Spotlight ‘Bean-spilling’ book by The Handmaid’s Tale author is ‘immensely readable’
 - 
Being a school crossing guard has become a deadly jobUnder the Radar At least 230 crossing guards have been hit by cars over the last decade
 - 
Crossword: November 4, 2025The Week's daily crossword
 
- 
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
 - 
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
 - 
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
 - 
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
 - 
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
 - 
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
 - 
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
 - 
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
 
