News 12 is taking a closer look at the candidates in one of the most consequential Democratic congressional primaries in the nation.

The race for New York's 16th Congressional District pits two-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman against Westchester County Executive George Latimer.

RELATED: VOTE 2024: Latimer makes his case for 16th Congressional District seat

Yonkers Democrat Bowman is making his case to voters for a third term in Congress.

He is faithfully sticking to an agenda packed with the progressive priorities he's long championed, including fighting social injustice and climate change.

"We need to deal with issues of mental health, substance abuse, learning disabilities, lack of green spaces, lack of housing and underfunded schools," he says.

The former Bronx public school principal is fighting to defend his seat against two-term Westchester County Executive George Latimer.

While he did not respond to News 12's interview requests for our profile, Bowman has spent his time on the campaign trail highlighting his proudest accomplishments in office, including securing millions of dollars in funding for local municipalities and community organizations.

"We're always looking to invest in historically underserved communities. Mount Vernon is one of the historically underserved, so any change we can to work with the city of community-based organizations to support Mount Vernon, we're going to do that," he says.

The newly redrawn 16th Congressional District not only encompasses Mount Vernon, but all of lower Westchester's largest cities, including Yonkers, New Rochelle and White Plains, along with a small slice of the Bronx.

It's a district where the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has weighed heavily.

Since Oct. 7, Bowman, who caucuses with the left-leaning group of lawmakers known as "The Squad," has become one of the most outspoken critics of Israel in Congress and has passionately championed students' rights to protest on college campuses across New York.

"When I was 11, I was a victim of police brutality just for being Black in America. Now I see that brutality being inflicted on peaceful students at Columbia and across the country," he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Bowman is now hoping voters will give him the chance to serve for two more years.

Watch Latimer and Bowman square off in a debate Monday at 8:30 p.m. on News 12 and News 12 New York. The event is being sponsored by News 12 and the Business Council of Westchester and moderated by our own Tara Rosenblum.