AOC blasts AIPAC for Jamal Bowman's primary defeat but Internet says 'Squad' member 'failed to listen to his voters'

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) reportedly criticized the AIPAC for pouring in more than $10 million to defeat "Squad" member Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary race for New York's 16th congressional district.

Pro-Israel political advocacy group AIPAC targetted Bowman, a progressive Democrat, over his criticism of the Jewish state's government by funding around $14.5 million to defeat the second-term lawmaker, The Hill reported.

AIPAC, which predominantly funds Republicans, rarely supports Democrats in their primary races.

"This was about $20 million in big money being spent in a historic sum, unlike any seen in American history. Point-blank. Period," Ocasio-Cortez said to the Capitol reporters on Wednesday, June 26, a day after Bowman lost the primary bid to the moderate Democrat and Westchester County Executive George Latimer by 17 points.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams AIPAC's influence on Jamaal Bowman's defeat

"I think we need to have a real conversation about the AIPAC," said Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won her own Democratic primary in NY's 14th congressional district.

She further urged to have a conversation about how a predominantly Republican-funded organization was "dumping money" and causing division within the Democratic Party.

A primary race that focused on the Israeli policy of the contenders led to Latimer's success, who received endorsement from Democrats, including Hillary Clinton.

The re-districting that took away most of the deep-blue Bronx, adding moderate Westchester County into the new district, also influenced Bowman's defeat in his third congressional bid.

Ocasio-Cortez, who actively campaigned for her fellow House Democrat, claimed, besides primaries, AIPAC could impact the outcome of the general election, stating that it could make it harder for coalition-building and creating winning alliances.

"We need that energy and coalition of a progressive base in order to make sure that we win statewide and federally, and Republicans are pouring money to finance these [primary fights] for a reason," she added.

The leftist Democrat noted that lawmakers like Bowman could reach out to communities that would not be possible for other areas of the Democratic Party. Therefore, if Republicans fund the removal of such people, it could be easier for them to impact the November election.

Internet disagrees with AOC's criticism of AIPAC influencing Jamaal Bowman's defeat

Refusing to concur with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's criticism of the pro-Isreal body's role in defeating Bowman, netizens suggested AIPAC had nothing to do with his primary loss.

A social media user wrote, "He failed to listen to his voters. They wanted someone to address the domestic issues of his district and this nation. Not someone who was looking for click bait, self promotion and not pull fire alarms."

Another claimed, "To be fair, Bowman was way behind before AIPAC was involved."

"Mr Bowman also faced tough opposition from just normal people due to being a foul-mouthed, fire-alarm-pulling clown, who embarrassed the US Congress. It's hard to say how much each factor contributed to his defeat," added one person

One individual said, "No, he was 17 points down before aipac entered the equation. He didn’t do anything for his district and voted against the infrastructure bill."

Someone else also disagreed with Ocasio-Cortez and deemed Bowman's defeat as "self-inflicted." An individual echoed a similar opinion, stating, "He had a number of other issues as well."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.