Rep. Jamaal Bowman defeated by pro-Israel Democrat in NY; Boebert wins in Colorado: Primary takeaways

Congressional and state primary results on Tuesday in New York, Colorado and Utah showcased the influence of the political fringes in 2024.

Progressive Democrats suffered a major blow when second-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman's lost his New York primary, while one of the most conservative factions in Congress notched a victory with Rep. Lauren Boebert’s win in Colorado.

In Utah, voters appeared to soundly reject candidates favored by the party establishment.

Here are some initial takeaways for how Tuesday’s results could reverberate throughout the rest of the 2024 election cycle.

An uncertain future for ‘the Squad’

Bowman’s defeat in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, covering parts of the Bronx, Yonkers and Westchester, marks the first ouster in 2024 of a member of the progressive group of House lawmakers called “the squad.”

First elected in 2020, Bowman on Tuesday lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a more moderate candidate. Latimer received endorsements from establishment Democratic figures including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Israel-Hamas war featured as a prominent topic in the race, given Bowman’s criticism of Israel’s approach to the war and calls for a cease-fire. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, spent millions of dollars in the race against Bowman.

Some political spectators, like former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have suggested that Bowman’s loss is a referendum on his rhetoric around the war in Gaza. But others, including Latimer, have suggested the trouncing was more a result of Bowman becoming “out of step,” with the district.

Other pro-cease-fire members of the squad, such as Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., have headed off primary challenges this year from candidates who have attacked their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.   

The role of Bowman’s stance on Israel, and AIPAC’s funding, in the race may be unclear until another contentious election later this summer. Fellow squad member Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., faces a tough primary challenge from St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell in August and AIPAC has already donated more than $630,000 to Bell’s campaign ahead of the Aug. 6 election in Missouri.

Lauren Boebert victorious

Rep. Lauren Boebert’s, R-Colo., decision to switch districts appears to have paid off. The Freedom Caucus Republican defeated five competitors in the GOP primary for Colorado’s 4th District.

Boebert first announced her plans to make a play for the seat, rather than for her current 3rd District position, after Republican Rep. Ken Buck announced he would not seek another term representing the eastern Colorado area.

The 37-year-old Boebert would have met a difficult general election battle in the 3rd District, if she had decided to remain in her existing seat. Her 2022 Democratic challenger Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, who she only narrowly beat in that year's midterms, is running again in 2024.

Boebert's victory in the 4th District against more traditional GOP figures, including former Colorado state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and current state Reps. Mike Lynch and Richard Holtorf, highlights the salience of Boebert’s name recognition and hard-line MAGA stances with conservative voters.

Utah voters snub state GOP’s picks – and Trump

The Utah GOP backed Senate and gubernatorial candidates running on pro-Trump messages in the state’s primaries on Tuesday. In the governor’s race, they supported Rep. Phil Lyman over incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox. And for Sen. Mitt Romney’s successor, they favored Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs.

Republican voters largely rejected those choices.

Cox, who said in February that it would be a “huge mistake” to choose Trump as the GOP presidential nominee, beat Lyman by double-digits. Rep. John Curtis, who was similarly the only candidate in the race for Romney’s open Senate seat who did not explicitly endorse Trump, bested his three competitors and won more than 50% of the vote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Primary takeaways: Jamaal Bowman loses to pro-Israel Dem, Boebert wins