Black lawmakers rally behind Engel in primary fight

[George II]

Source: The Hill

BY SCOTT WONG AND MIKE LILLIS - 06/15/20 03:41 PM EDT

Powerful Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members are rallying behind longtime Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) as he fends off a tough primary challenge from a progressive African American candidate, Jamaal Bowman.

Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), whose endorsement helped propel Joe Biden to the presidential nomination, and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the caucus chairman seen as the heir apparent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-N.Y.), threw their support behind Engel, a pro-Israel Jewish American and 16-term House veteran, over the weekend.

So has the influential House Financial Services Committee chairwoman, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and the CBC’s political action committee, led by another powerful New York Democrat, Rep. Greg Meeks, the Queens party boss. Engel also is backed by Carl Heastie, the first black Speaker of the New York state Assembly whose Bronx district overlaps with Engel’s.

Black Democrats are not criticizing Bowman, whose campaign has tapped into the national anger over police brutality and institutional racism that has inspired tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets of New York and other U.S. cities in recent weeks.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/502801-black-lawmakers-rally-behind-engel-in-primary-fight

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The CBC recognized Engel's excellent, long-time record in Congress, and also knows the importance of this year's elections.

HUGE endorsements from top, powerful Democrats.

[Squinch]

1. I am SO happy to see this. Replacing Engel with a middle school

principal would be complete madness.

[George II]

2. Bowman has been a Democrat for only about two years.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Geesh! Again with the Establishment Democratic Party.

At least those "Establishment Democrats" know what they are doing and won't be self-destructing.

[empedocles]

4. Think I would go with Clyburn over AOC - easily.

[Magoo48]

5. And I'd go with AOC over the majority of House Dems. Haha, beware the progressives.

We all vote blue.
Lockstep, Party line not required.

[empedocles]

6. Clyburn only delivered S.C. and put Biden over the hump.

Vote to win

[George II]

12. "Party line not required? You're not voting for Democrats?

[rooboy]

7. "GOP Money Flowing To Super PAC Backing Rep. Eliot Engel, Documents Show"

The PAC’s treasurer, David Satterfield, is a former aide to one-time Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist. Satterfield works now at Huckaby Davis Lisker, a prominent firm that does election compliance and accounting work for Republican campaigns. This cycle, the firm is handling the accounts for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and the campaign of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, among dozens of other GOP operations.

https://theintercept.com/2020/06/15/gop-republican-super-pac-eliot-engel-jamaal-bowman/

[scipan]

8. Engel hadn't been home for months

<a href="

Link to tweet

[George II]

11. That's false. He's been in the district as much as many of his city colleagues....

Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

[scipan]

9. Engel on hot mic: if I didn't have a primary I wouldn't care

Link to tweet

?s=20

[George II]

10. This again? The context is that they were discussing the order in which to speak...

... NOT that he wouldn't have been there if he wasn't in a primary. He had another event to attend.

If it was the way you WISHED it happened, surely Rubin Diaz would not be endorsing him.

Next?