Jamaal Bowman has the youth vote at least

NEW YORK — Just as Wu-Tang is for the children, Jamaal Bowman is for the youth.

Young people were key to the coalition that propelled Bowman into a New York House seat in 2020 over then-Rep. Eliot Engel.

And they’ve been critical this year as the very vulnerable lefty firebrand fights to fend off a challenge from George Latimer, an establishment Democrat whose base trends much more Boomer.

Gen Z-electeds like Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and New York City Council Member Chi Ossé have campaigned with Bowman, producing slick social media videos to entice still more support from 20-somethings.

Youth-led groups like Sunrise Movement, which advocates for a “climate revolution,” and Protect Our Power, which seeks to keep Squad members like Bowman in office, have been canvassing, phone banking and even confronting wealthy Latimer donors (getting it on video, natch).

“He has consistently shown up for young people, whether that be for our calls for climate action or labor or the pro-peace movement,” Ella Weber, communications director for Protect Our Power, said in an interview.

But it may not be enough: Bowman is vastly outspent, down in the polls and struggling in the final stretch of the race. And older voters typically outnumber younger ones at the ballot box.

Latimer, the executive of suburban Westchester County, said in an interview that his core support comes from voters who’ve gotten to know him throughout his long career in local and state government — and they vote reliably.

A recent Emerson College poll backed up his take: Democratic primary voters over age 40 favor him by significant margins, with his biggest advantage among voters over 70, who break for him 53 to 22 percent.

The Bowman-Latimer battle in Westchester County and the Bronx ranks as the most expensive House primary ever, with AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups pouring money into defeating Bowman over his criticism of Israel amid the war in Gaza.

The generational gap in appeal is stark between Bowman, a 48-year-old former middle school principal, and Latimer, the more moderate 70-year-old political veteran.

And it’s apparent in their outreach. Bowman makes fast-moving hype videos for TikTok and recently posted himself on X rapping KRS-One’s “The MC,” while Latimer posts musings and grainy photos on Facebook.

But it’s even more about Bowman’s insistence that the United States should not finance the Israeli offensive in Gaza and AIPAC-backed Latimer’s refusal to condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The generational divide indicates other things like stance on Israel, like stances on racial justice, stances on climate, right? That’s what you see here,” Bowman said in an interview.

The Israel-Hamas war factors prominently in the contentious primary with a sizable Jewish electorate. It’s also the flash point exacerbating President Joe Biden’s struggles to retain younger, more left-leaning support.

“As we look to the general election and as we think about turning out young people to defeat Donald Trump, Joe Biden needs someone like Jamal Bowman who can really speak to young people,” Stevie O’Hanlon of Sunrise Movement said in an interview. “There is a real disillusionment among many young people with politics right now, and unfortunately, that is leading to some people staying home and deciding not to vote.”

Bowman is harnessing young supporter enthusiasm ahead of next Tuesday’s primary, including with a “youth mobilization concert” Thursday in Port Chester headlined by Cash Cobain, a 26-year-old rapper from the Bronx.

“He certainly appeals to them in style,” Latimer conceded. “He’s an educator who worked with young people, so I do grant him that as being a strength of his.”

A version of this story first appeared Thursday in New York Playbook. Subscribe here.