Hillary Clinton has announced her endorsement of Westchester County Executive George Latimer over incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York's increasingly heated House primary, coming just hours after Bowman, a "Squad" member, accused his opponent of racism.
"With Trump on the ballot, we need strong, principled Democrats in Congress more than ever," Clinton, the 2016 Democrat presidential nominee and a former secretary of state, posted on her X account Wednesday. "In Congress, @LatimerforNY will protect abortion rights, stand up to the NRA, and fight for President Biden's agenda — just like he's always done."
Latimer said, in response, that Clinton's "voice gives even more momentum to our grassroots campaign, which keeps gaining strength because we stand strongly and honestly for our values and for our belief in delivering meaningful results for the communities we serve," reports Politico.
His campaign announced the endorsement ahead of the first day of early primary voting, accompanying the announcement with a list of local labor groups and leaders who also support him.
Clinton's endorsement comes as the race between Latimer and Bowman becomes more heated. Bowman has also been endorsed by several well-known supporters, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Bowman, during an event in Mount Vernon, New York, Wednesday, claimed that Latimer is "in the pocket of Republican billionaires … who are racist," and that his challenger "is also not just anti-Black racist, he's anti-Muslim racist."
Latimer's campaign has been highlighting that Bowman voted against a bipartisan infrastructure plan backed by President Joe Biden. Bowman says his vote was not pivotal to whether the law would pass and that he wanted to advocate more for social spending.
The Bowman-Latimer campaign is also testing Democrat voters' opinions on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Pro-Israel AIPAC is backing Latimer, who says Bowman's criticism of Israel does not match the stance of mainstream Democrats, through a multi-million support campaign.