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. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is polling somewhere in the neighborhood of zero to one percent in most national polls, but she doesn't believe she can be counted out of the race with the first Democratic primary debates still looming.
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Democratic presidential hopefuls descended on South Carolina Friday to meet voters and chow down at House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn's "World Famous Fish Fry."
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House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn focused on his district and uplifting rural communities with a plan to build up broadband infrastructure
Three years since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) is working to strengthen the government's ability to track violence against the LGBTQ community in an effort to combat the enduring epidemic.
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Rising tensions with Iran and a oil refinery fire in Philadelphia are threatening to send prices higher at American gas pumps.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and other members of Congress want to question Facebook on its latest project launching a cryptocurrency called Libra.
Sen. Josh Hawley’s bill to hold major tech companies responsible for content published on their platforms is finding no love. The legislation, which is aimed to punishing tech companies for their supposed censorship of conservative voices, is being criticized by free speech advocates for potentially increasing censorship and by politicians from both sides of the aisle who view the bill as gross example of government overreach.
