He was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2020 Johnston by-election, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP) until 2024.

He played his 200th AFL game in round 8 against Adelaide, gathering 34 possessions as the Tigers used low risk short-passing tactics to upset the then-ladder-leading Crows by three points just a week after suffering a 118-point loss to the Sydney Swans.

With Richmond up by 6 points against Essendon with less than a minute left, Bowden proceeded to wipe the remaining time off the clock by rushing 2 behinds from the kick out.

[6] These tactics which caused an uproar with many calling for the current rules to be changed; football journalist Mike Sheahan even likened it to the infamous Trevor Chappell underarm delivery incident.

[7] In 2018, Bowden was appointed general secretary of Unions NT, the peak body for the labour movement in the Northern Territory.