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.