Heading into the final weekend of early voting, Jamaal Bowman rallied alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders as he faces a tough primary challenge.

Sanders, while an independent, is a giant in progressive left politics.


What You Need To Know

  • Jamaal Bowman rallied alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders as he faces a tough primary challenge

  • Over a hundred people turned out, with the campaign encouraging them to knock on doors

  • Ad spending for the election has broken records

“This election is not about a clash of ideas. This election is about whether billionaire superPACS can buy our democracy,” Sanders said at the rally in Hastings on Hudson in Westchester County.

He explained why this race is being watched around the country.

“If they are able to beat Jamaal with tens of millions of dollars, then you as a congressman will say, ‘Hey, am I really going to speak out about healthcare?’” Bernie said.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer campaign, meanwhile, highlighted how he has more contributions from inside the district than Bowman.

But Bowman has kept the focus on the outsized role outside spending has had in this race overall — the theme for the rally.

Ad spending for the election has broken records.

In particular, millions of dollars from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby group that is spending money to defeat Bowman — a critic of Israel, who’s called the war in Gaza a genocide.

“The special interest group, AIPAC, they are spending more money in this race than has ever been spent in congressional primary history. They have money. We have the many,” Bowman said.

Bowman is focusing on turnout.

“This is a turnout race, y’all. This is not about persuasion. We got our people,” he said. "We got us."

Bowman fired up the crowd.

Over a hundred people turned out, with the campaign encouraging them to knock on doors.

Kayleigh Reichman and her mother, Francine Lucidon, are Bowman supporters. They are also opposed to the outside spending in this race.

“We’re getting attack ads every day, mailers, as seen on TV. It’s very negative, and it’s not about what Bowman actually represents what he means to this community,” Reichman said.

“It’s not about what Latimer represents, either. It’s just trash. It’s just negative, slanderous sort of stuff, which is like, that’s not Democrats,” Lucidon said.