Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) lost the Democratic primary in Missouri to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell on Wednesday. Bush is the second member of “the Squad” of far-left Democrats to lose her reelection, as Jamaal Bowman lost his New York primary to George Latimer in June.
The members of the Squad have been very vocal in criticizing Israel for its actions in Gaza after the October 7 attack by terrorist group Hamas. Bush has been reluctant to label Hamas a terrorist organization, and has accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” and engaging in “genocide” in Gaza.
According to mainstream-media sources, Bush and Bowman are victims of pro-Israel groups, most notably the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which poured million of dollars into campaigns against them. Bowman’s race was the most expensive House primary in history. Bush’s primary loss is reported to be the second most-expensive.
Bell won comfortably, securing 51.2 percent to only 45.6 for Bush.
“I am deeply honored and humbled by the trust the people of this district have placed in me,” Bell said in a statement. “This victory belongs to every volunteer, every supporter, and every voter who believes in our vision for a better future.”
In an angry speech after her loss, Bush said that her loss “takes some strings off,” and allows her to be more aggressive in anti-Israel activism.
“Because now, there are some strings that I have attached. And as much as I love my job, all they did was radicalize me, and now they should be afraid,” Bush said.
“They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side,” Bush continued. “There is nothing that happens in my life that happens in vain. So, this happened because it was meant to happen. And let me say, it’s because of the work that I need to do.”
Bush had a warning for AIPAC.
“And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
AIPAC congratulated Bell in a statement of its own.
“AIPAC congratulates Wesley Bell for his consequential victory over an incumbent anti-Israel detractor,” the group said. “Once again, a progressive pro-Israel Democrat has prevailed over a candidate who represents the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state.”
Bush’s supporters such as the far-left PAC Justice Democrats didn’t take the loss well, lamenting the use of “dark money” from groups such as AIPAC.
“This race — like every race AIPAC now spends millions of dollars in — was defined by the historic amount of spending from AIPAC’s Super PAC, paired with corporate-aligned PACs like Crypto’s Fairshake and Reid Hoffman’s Mainstream Democrats that made this the second-most expensive House primary ever,” said an email blast to supporters.
Bush was just the type of candidate they wished to push on America.
“Cori Bush is what the future of the Democratic Party looks like,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, who originally backed Bush. “Cori was our first Justice Democrat because she embodied the change we wanted to see in the Democratic Party.”
Apparently Bush was in the habit of not showing up or showing up late for her committee appointments.
“I will miss Cori Bush missing every committee meeting,” Florida Republican Republican Matt Gaetz wryly noted on X.
Another “Squad” member, Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, is facing a stiff challenge from Democratic challenger former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who nearly beat Omar in 2022. That primary is set for August 13.
