The Democratic voter greeted us with a friendly smile and a thoughtful silence. She glanced skeptically at our literature. “You’ve heard some bad things?” we asked, reading her body language. She nodded, relaxing a bit. We explained. The onslaught of negative information about our candidate was funded by groups opposing a cease-fire in Israel’s ongoing massacre of the Palestinians. Once she knew that, our voter, a middle-aged resident of Co-op City in the Bronx, was more than happy to support him.

My comrade and I were knocking on doors for democratic socialist and Green New Deal champion Jamaal Bowman in New York’s 16 District, where that congressman, who was endorsed by New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA) last week, faces a tough primary battle for reelection. After he named the Israeli response to October 7 what it is — a genocide — and called for a cease-fire, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-war groups threw millions of dollars behind his opponent.

Bowman’s campaign is defined by exactly the paradox we encountered at that door in Co-op City: his stance on Palestine has put his political career in danger by galvanizing well-funded forces against him, yet his position on the issue is also a deeply popular one.