Jamaal Bowman’s loss is about him — but it’s also about the Squad

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy On a Friday in November 2021, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus huddled for hours, agonizing about whether to vote to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill without simultaneously passing President Joe Biden’s ambitious social spending and climate bill, Build Back Better. Pro-Israel groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC poured more than $14 million into this contest in a successful effort to unseat Bowman, making it the most expensive primary race in US history. Rather, they zeroed in on his vote against the infrastructure bill, saying he “refuses to compromise, even with President Biden.” “Part of it is skill, part of it’s dumb luck,” one senior pro-Israel Democratic strategist told The Independent before the primary, when referencing how well their attacks on Bowman had landed. Bowman’s neighboring progressive colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents an urban district in the Bronx and Queens, did not face outside money from AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel or other groups.