New York State Democratic voters choose more centrist candidates in congressional primaries

While the sample size is small, Democratic voters chose to back the more centrist, some would say the more “electable,” candidate in key congressional primaries across New York on Tuesday.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, once championed as a star and one of the most liberal voices in Congress, lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the 16th Congressional District.

In Syracuse, state Sen. John Mannion defeated Sarah Klee Hood, a DeWitt Town councilor, in the 22nd Congressional District.

And on the East End of Long Island, former CNN political analyst John Avlon defeated Nancy Goroff in the 1st Congressional District.

Each race had unique factors that came into play: Bowman’s comments on Israel, Mannion’s union support and Avlon’s high-profile supporters. But the winners also shared the centrist label, analysts said.

“It is a small sample. But a couple of the themes that emerge is the candidate who was considered more moderate, more electable within a general election and who were backed by [party] organizations or unions, were the ones who won,” said Lawrence Levy, a dean of suburban studies at Hofstra University.

And it’s a change from where Democrats were headed in 2018 and 2020, when the party’s liberal wing was on the rise.

“It’s a sign that Democrats have decided winning elections is more important than scoring ideological points,” Levy said.

Grant Reeher, a Syracuse University political scientist, said each of the races “had its own story” with more important factors, but it was clear that the more moderate candidate prevailed.

“And that might say something generally about the Democratic Party and its sense of what it needs to do to win in November,” Reeher said.

Certainly, the Latimer-Bowman race featured the strongest moderate-progressive contrast and easily was the highest-profile race.

Bowman was first elected in 2020 and became one member of the “squad” of progressive lawmakers of color to hold a seat in Washington. A series of events preceded his loss Tuesday.

Last fall, he pleaded guilty to pulling a fire alarm in a U.S. House building amid a vote on a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown.

He also became a vocal critic of Israel, initially saying reports of sexual assaults in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks were “propaganda,” though he later walked back the comment when the United Nations confirmed the reports.

He opposed a House resolution supporting Israel and blasted the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for spending millions of dollars to oust him. He had strong support from leading progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But Latimer was not just an unknown challenger taking on an incumbent. He represented Westchester County as a state senator and had twice been elected as county executive. He called for more civility and said officials needed to work across political divides.

With the victory, Latimer becomes the overwhelming favorite to win in November as the district is heavily Democratic, covering parts of Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester.

In Syracuse, Reeher said, Mannion and Hood didn’t differ greatly on issues, though Mannion was seen as slightly more moderate. The difference, he said, was Mannion lined up “all the relevant union support” in the central New York district.

“I would attribute Mannion’s comfortable win to the unions more than anything else,” Reeher said.

The outcome sets up a match with Republican incumbent Brandon Williams in a swing district that should attract national attention.

On Long Island, Goroff sought to emphasize Avlon’s work years ago as a speechwriter and adviser to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. But the criticism didn’t stick.

What did stick was Goroff’s 2020 campaign, when she lost handily to then-Congressman Lee Zeldin, analysts said. Also, Avlon benefited from a higher profile and from endorsements from Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and others.

“Avlon had a fresh face and Goroff lost pretty big last time. So I think winnability is a big factor here,” said Michael Dawidziak, a Suffolk County political consultant who works for incumbent Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport).

Avlon now will face Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) in the Suffolk-based 1st Congressional District. Like Syracuse, it too is considered a swing seat, but the most recent redistricting made it a bit more favorable to Republicans. Still, Levy said of Avlon: “He gives Dems their best chance” of winning.

With wire reports

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy