In New York's June primary, Jamaal Bowman, an educator from the NYC suburbs running an unabashedly progressive insurgent campaign appeared to topple Rep. Eliot Engel, a 16-term incumbent, for the Democratic nomination in the state's 16th Congressional district, though Engel is now suing to challenge the validity of mail-in ballots.
Bowman told Cheddar on Thursday that he's "not worried at all" about the suit, noting that as more absentee ballots are counted, his vote count is actually widening and the delta is now about 13,000 votes.
"We want every vote to be counted as well," Bowman said. "We're very comfortable with where we are."
As Bowman seems likely to be heading to Congress — NY-16 is about as blue a district as there is and the Democratic nominee is expected to coast to victory in November — he says it's critical that the U.S. pandemic response takes a less "top-down" approach when it comes to vexing problems like whether or not to open schools in the fall.
Bowman, a middle school principal by vocation, said: "We are not ready to open schools, because we have not brought the full resources of the federal government to bear." He called on officials to get serious about "innovative" ways to safely reopen, from prioritizing alternative spaces for learning to redesigned ventilation systems in school buildings. But right now, there are "too many unanswered questions" to safely reopen, he said.
The presumptive nominee also said he'd give President Trump a grade of "less than zero" for his response to the racial unrest and protests that have gripped the nation since the death of George Floyd.
"President Trump is a racist. He is a fascist. And he wants to maintain an order of white supremacy," Bowman stated.
Sen. Kamala Harris has become a beacon of cautious hope among cannabis advocates and industry insiders who hope she’ll push a more conservative Joe Biden left on cannabis issues.
Political ad spending is up across the board. Cheddar's Michelle Castiillo takes a look at what topics politicians are focusing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chuck Rocha, former senior adviser for Bernie for President 2020 and 2016, talks new Book "Tio Bernie," and what the Biden-Harris campaign can do to secure the Latino vote.
President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall.
Dollar stores have conquered the United States, in an era where a “retail apocalypse” is slowly decimating brick and mortar retail shopping. The spread of these dollar stores is also deeply tied to issues of income inequality in the U.S. It’s argued that not only do these institutions benefit from poverty, but also that they perpetuate it. It has even led to some communities to limit the spread of dollar stores in their towns. So how did the dollar store conquer the U.S. - and what is their real impact?
An appeals court has allowed ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors in California while an appeal works its way through the court.
President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to block critics from his personal Twitter account.
The new rule would tweak the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which regulates the fiduciary duties of private plan managers.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma in a hospital in Siberia after falling ill from a suspected poisoning.
Kamala Harris is poised to make history as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket.
