“The world has changed. Congress needs to change, too,” Bowman said in a statement sent to reporters minutes after he was declared the winner. “But if we can take on entrenched power and wealthy interests here in Westchester and the Bronx, then we can do it all across this country.

Progressives latched onto Bowman’s candidacy in the closing weeks of the race. He earned late endorsements from prominent liberals, like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), whose district borders Engel’s in the Bronx.

Bowman's campaign gained more steam amid the protests that followed the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in late May. Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of the progressive group Justice Democrats, which supported Ocasio-Cortez’s successful campaign against an incumbent in 2018, directly tied Bowman’s victory to the demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality.

“Jamaal is the fourth challenger backed by Justice Democrats to unseat an out-of-touch incumbent,” Rojas said. “He’s one of the first candidates being swept into Congress by the movement in the streets right now, and he won’t be the last.”

Bowman declared victory weeks ago, after posting a big lead over Engel after in-person voting. Engel and the AP waited for the counting of the huge number of absentee ballots cast by voters because of the virus — and while a significant amount of that vote is still untallied, the AP said Friday it has determined that “Bowman’s lead from votes cast in person is too large for Engel to overcome.”

The district is heavily Democratic — Hillary Clinton won 75 percent the vote in the 2016 presidential race — and Bowman will be heavily favored to win the general election in November.

Engel, who was first elected in 1988, came under fire for riding out the initial weeks of the pandemic at his home in Potomac, Md., a tony suburb just outside Washington. When he did return home, he was caught in an embarrassing, “hot mic” moment, asking the Bronx borough president to speak at a news conference. “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care” about not speaking, Engel said.

Engel has chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee since Democrats took over the House following the 2018 elections. His ouster makes official a scramble for his chairmanship that has already been underway for weeks.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) is seen as the frontrunner in the race, according to multiple Democratic sources. Meeks, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is running against Rep. Brad Sherman of California, who is next in line on the Democratic roster.

Both members began privately reaching out to their fellow Democrats after early results from the New York primary signaled Engel was in serious jeopardy. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who is more junior but serves as vice-chairman of the panel, is also eyeing a bid for the gavel.

The Democratic caucus will not vote on Engel’s successor until December, after the 2020 elections.

Engel is the fifth House incumbent and second Democrat to lose a nominating contest so far this year, one more than the total from the 2018 election cycle. Rep. Dan Lipinksi (D-Ill.), whose record was far more conservative than Engel’s, also lost to a progressive challenger back in March.