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.

Share:
More In Politics
Comparing the House and Senate Coronavirus Relief Bills
Each piece of legislation is long: 247 pages for the Senate bill and a whopping 1,404 pages for the House bill. While we cannot distill every provision, here’s a look at some of the major differences between the two pieces of legislation.
Dow Has Best Day Since 1933 as Congress Nears Deal on Aid
Stocks are jumping in midday trading on Wall Street Tuesday amid expectations that Congress is nearing a deal on a big coronavirus relief bill. That would follow more aggressive steps from the Federal Reserve announced a day earlier to support lending and bond markets.
On Hold: Tokyo Olympics Postponed to 2021
The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility.
Load More