Progressive Squad member Rep. Cori Bush looks poised to lose her bid for reelection, making her the second member of the far-left group to be voted out of office this year.
The controversial Democrat faced a hotly-contested race against a more moderate challenger who hammered Bush for her support of pro-Gaza protests and causes.
With 51 percent of the votes counted, she was trailing challenger Wesley Bell 54 to 42 percent. Election forecaster Decision Desk HQ has projected Bush will lose the race.
Her challenger St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell has not yet declared victory and the Associated Press has not yet declared the race.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly lost his primary to a more moderate Democrat earlier this summer.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-mo., a progressive ‘Squad’ member and former Black Lives Matter organizer, was six points behind her Democratic primary opponent Wesley Bell in a poll released just one week before the scheduled election. She is now the second Squad member to lose their primary election this year
A shocking survey last week showed Bush’s campaign trailing by a massive six points seven days out from Tuesday’s election.
The Mellman Group on behalf of the Democratic Majority For Israel PAC released a poll showing Bush’s challenger St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell ahead of her 48 percent to 42 percent.
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The Squad members that are now in jeopardy after Jamaal Bowman's staggering primary race loss
Similar to Bush’s race against Bell, Bowman’s race in New York hinged on a key issue: the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman, a fellow member of the Squad (at least for now before he leaves Congress this winter), fiercely defended Palestinians and decried the Israeli’s actions as ‘genocide.’
His reward for repeatedly attacking the Jewish nation’s wartime conduct: a pro-Israel SuperPAC coming after him.
AIPAC, a pro-Israel political group, spent massively against Bowman, pumping millions upon millions into the campaign of a local county executive.
With the support of the group, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat, sailed to an easy primary win, securing over 59 percent of the vote compared to Bowman’s 40 percent.
Meanwhile in Missouri, Bell has had a much tamer tone on the Israel-Hamas war while Bush has loudly advocated for pro-Gaza policies and has thrown her support by anti-Israel protestors, a difference that is expected to impact the race.
St. Louis County Prosecutor, Wesley Bell gives remarks during the Ferguson mayoral inauguration. He has beat Bush in consecutive polls from the Mellman Group, possibly indicating he could unseat the incumbent
And AIPAC is clearly looking to replicate their maneuver against Bowman to strong arm Bush out of office.
‘AIPAC’s grassroots members are proud to support strong pro-Israel progressive Democrats like Wesley Bell,’ an AIPAC wrote statement recently.
‘Cori Bush has been one of the most hostile critics of Israel since she came to Congress in 2021 and has actively worked to undermine mainstream Democratic support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.’
In the spring Bush even hosted an event for anti-Israel protestors that were removed by police from George Washington University for squatting on campus property in an encampment for a week.
She and fellow Squad mate Rep. Rashida Tlaib celebrated the students’s heroics at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol.
More recently Bush skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress last week.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accompanied by George Washington University students speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, after police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested demonstrators.
(L-R) US Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, and US Representative Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, hold signs reading ‘Stop Sending Bombs’ and ‘Lasting Ceasefire Now’ as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024
Bell has had a much tamer tone on the Israel-Hamas war than Bush, an issue that proved to be damning for Jamaal Bowman, who critics believe lost his race, in part, because of his loud support of Gaza and condemnations of Israel
The prosecutor has beat Bush in recent polls for months, showing the former Black Lives Matter organizer consistently behind him.
The poll, which was conducted from July 21-24 among 400 in-district voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%.
The bad news for Bush is that this poll is a major improvement for her opponent Bell.
In June a poll from the same group found him leading the incumbent by a narrow one point margin, up 43 percent to Bush’s 42 percent.
In addition to Bush and Bowman, Squad founding member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is also facing a difficult Democratic primary challenger who she narrowly beat in 2022.
The Democratic primary between Bush and Bell is scheduled for August 6.