Charles Barron Loses Race for Congress
Charles Barron Image by Getty images
New York City Councilman Charles Barron, a fierce critic of Israeli policy who was opposed by Jewish lawmakers and top party officials, was trounced his bid to secure the Democratic nomination in a Brooklyn congressional race.
Barron lost decisively to state Assemblyman Hakeen Jeffries Tuesday in the fight to succeed 24-year incumbent Rep. Edolphus Towns, also a Democrat, who is retiring at the end of this year. Jeffries attracted support from pro-Israel activists throughout the city and around the country.
With 54% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press deemed Jeffries the easy winner, 75% of the vote to Barron’s 25%, the Daily News reported
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/charles-barron-accept-landslide-loss-brooklyn-8th-congressional-district-hakeem-jeffries-article-1.1102968#ixzz1yze887PE
Several current and former New York Jewish elected officials had denounced Barron’s candidacy to represent New York’s 8th Congressional District, citing what they called his anti-Israel views. Ex-Mayor Ed Koch, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), City Councilman David Greenfield and state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, among others, gathered earlier this month in front of the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in downtown Battery Park to call Barron an “enemy of the State of Israel” and the New York Jewish community.
Barron’s candidacy drew widespread opposition, including from the liberal group MoveOn and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who is running as a Republican for Congress in New Jersey.
The politicians at Battery Park expressed support for Jeffries and called Barron an “anti-Semite,” “hateful” and a “bigot.”
Barron has compared the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to the Nazi treatment of Jews during World War II. He also has publicly praised foreign dictators such as the late Muammar Gadhafi of Libya and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
In other New York races, Rory Lancman, who is Jewish, lost to Grace Meng in a Queens congressional race. Republican Rep. Bob Turner, who famously grabbed Anthony Weiner’s old congressional seat, lost a bid for the GOP Senate nod.
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