Eliot Engel will no longer be a part of a hotly contested New York House Primary, as he lost to Jamaal Bowman on 16 July 2020. Engel, who served decades of his life in Congress, got the bolt out by the political newcomer, which came out with a surprise.
The news came more than three weeks after polls closed in New York House Primary, and Bowman was officially declared as the winner over Engel.
After the defeat, Engel released a statement which reads:
"The numbers are clear, and I will not be the Democratic nominee for the 16th Congressional District seat in the fall election. Serving the people of the Bronx and Westchester in Congress has been the greatest privilege of my life, and what a remarkable 32 years it has been."
Eliot Engel's defeat to Jamaal Bowman, who is also a person of color, has a coincidence with the racial campaign that has been throughout the United States. It is also said that it came as Progressive were looking for the victory disappointment of Sen. Bernie Sanders ending his bid for president in early 2020.
On the other hand, Jamaal Bowman described his win as 'tremendous honor and privilege.' Appearing in a live video, he mentioned that his campaign was about "building coalitions across race, across class, across religion, across age, across our beautiful differences, leveraging our beautiful differences, to make the world a better place."
Regarding Engel's campaign, he did not make himself a favor in the past few months. He became the national headlines for the missteps that played directly into Jamaal Bowman. And it led him to lose against the Political newcomer though he had more than thirty years of political background.
As per the records, Engel spent the worst of New York's coronavirus crisis in Maryland. He wrapped the case saying that he was following a doctor's instructions and cited that his house outside Washington is bigger than his apartment so that he could better quarantine with his wife there. Another case came in June 2020 when a live microphone caught him asking to speak at a news conference in the Bronx.
Despite the win-loss stats, both Eliot Engel and Jamaal Bowman are the supporters of 'Medicare for All.'
Who Is Eliot Engel?
Eliot Lance Engel is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative for New York's 16th congressional district. He is also the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves on the Subcommittee on Health.
Besides that, he is the founder of the House Energy and National Security Caucus, and his presence in the legal authorities include Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, the HIV/AIDS Caucus, the Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Anti-Semitism, and the Animal Protection Caucus.
Eliot Engel as a chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (©: newstatesman.com)
He is widely recognized for being in the aisle of the House Chamber for State of the Unions and Joint Sessions of Congress.
Before the election to Congress, he served in the New York State Assembly for twelve years from 1977 to 1988. He handled the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse as well as Subcommittee on Mitchell-Lama Housing during his regime in the assembly.
As per opensecrets.org, Eliot Engel's net worth in 2018 was -$31,498. It includes credit unions of $75,000, commercial banks of $32,500, and others. He also had five assets totaling $82,005 to $230,000 (2018).
Eliot Engel And His Education Background
Eliot Engel was born on 18 February 1947 in the Bronx, the United States. He attended New York City public schools before graduating from Hunter-Lehman College with a B.A. in History in 1969.
Later, he earned the Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York in 1973. He is also the recipient of law degree from New York Law School (1987).
As of 2020, he resides in the Bronx with his wife, Pat Engel, and three children.