Pro-Trump GOP donor hosts fundraiser for George Latimer in primary challenge to Rep. Jamaal Bowman

NEW YORK — A wealthy GOP donor who backed former President Trump to the tune of $15,000 is hosting a weekend fundraiser for Westchester County Executive George Latimer to boost his Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Jamaal Bowman.

Insurance mogul Alex Dubitsky and his wife are inviting friends to pay up to $6,600 a person to have brunch with Latimer at their home in tony Larchmont on Sunday.

Dubitsky gave $8,000 to Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and another $7,000 to his Make America Great Again political action committee, campaign finance records show.

He forked over nearly $20,000 to the Republican National Committee in recent years, while chipping in to boost GOP stalwarts like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Bowman, who represents the 16th Congressional District, lashed out at Latimer on Thursday, saying his embrace of Dubitsky shows he can’t be trusted to support President Biden and the Democratic agenda.

“Democrats across New York’s 16th District reject the hateful, divisive, racist politics of MAGA Republicans,” Bowman told the News “It’s straight up damning that George Latimer would rather stand with Trump donors than help working people.”

The powerful Working Families Party, which is backing Bowman in what is shaping to be a tough primary fight, also trashed Latimer for hobnobbing with Trump fans.

“Latimer is now holding a fundraiser with a GOP mega-donor who has given tens of thousands of dollars to candidates like Donald Trump and Elise Stefanik,” said Jasmine Gripper, co-director of WFP. “Voters should be the ones who decide Democratic primaries, not Republican donors.”

Dubitsky is co-hosting the event with his wife, Pamela Tillinghast Dubitsky, who chairs the Westchester County Parks and Recreation Board. She was appointed to the board by Latimer in 2018.

Alex Dubitsky is founder and CEO of Awbury, a $7 billion Connecticut-based insurance firm that boasts of being “a leading provider of bespoke insurance and reinsurance protection for complex financial risks.”

His list of donations paints a portrait of a dyed-in-the-wool conservative GOP supporter. Dubitsky has donated to only one Democrat, a $250 gift to Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) in 2014.

He gave three separate donations to Trump in the run-up to the 2020 election, the last one just three weeks before the former president lost to Biden.

Dubitsky also gave to GOP Reps. Lee Zeldin, Rep. Marc Molinaro and Rep. Andrew Garbarino.

He also gave a hefty $13,500 to Republican Rob Astorino’s failed 2022 gubernatorial primary campaign. Ironically, Astorino was a former Westchester County Executive who was ousted by Latimer in 2017

It appears the Dubitsky household is split along partisan political lines.

Pamela Dubitsky, a lawyer who sits on a state parks commission and once chaired a local Larchmont library board, donated $1,000 to Hillary Clinton’s losing 2016 campaign against Trump and $1,000 to Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021.

Latimer, 70, who portrays himself as a mainstream liberal Democrat, launched a primary challenge to Bowman, accusing the two-term incumbent of being too progressive for the deep-blue district that spans all of southern Westchester County and a sliver of the Bronx.

He also attacked Bowman for his harsh criticism of Israel amidst its war against Hamas in Gaza. He journeyed to Israel on a self-described “solidarity trip” with the Jewish state.

Bowman, a charismatic former Bronx middle school principal, won the seat in a dramatic 2020 primary upset of longtime Rep. Eliot Engel. The district was significantly changed in the 2020 redistricting process, shifting into Westchester and out of Bowman’s Bronx strongholds, but he has not softened his progressive rhetoric, often siding with firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

The race could be shaken up again if the state’s congressional map is redrawn again this year, which now seems likely.

Some versions of Democratic-friendly maps would reshape the NY-16 district to include much more of Westchester and even Putnam and Dutchess counties, which could benefit Latimer. Others scoop up more of the Bronx, giving a potential edge to Bowman.