After a devastating primary loss, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) joins the likes of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), and the progressive “squad” is now down two members.
Of note, Bush’s race was the second-most expensive primary for this year’s political cycle, coming only behind Bowman’s race against George Latimer earlier this year.
GOP funded Super PACs and megadonors led the charge, spending millions of dollars to unseat the two incumbents. Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s victory over Bush was another victory for the “American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) after it played a leading role in unseating New York congressman Jamaal Bowman, another progressive Democrat who criticized the scale of Palestinian civilians deaths in Gaza, in a June primary.” Bush alienated pro-Israel groups after publicly condemning Hamas and referring to Israel’s attacks on Gaza and civilian deaths as a war crime and “collective punishment against Palestinians.”
Political donations to Bush and Bowman’s opponents were pumped through AIPAC’s campaign arm, the United Democracy Project (UDP). Per The Guardian, “[m]uch of the UDP’s money comes from billionaires who fund hardline pro-Israel causes and Republicans in other races, including some who have given to Donald Trump’s campaign.” Over half of the money spent against the Bush campaign came from the UDP.
Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director of Justice Democrats released a statement via X: “Cori Bush is what the future of the Democratic Party looks like. No matter what a singular Super PAC can spend to try and buy an election, nothing can take away from the transformational effect Cori Bush has directly had on the people of St. Louis.”
“No other member of Congress has slept on the steps of the US Capitol to keep their constituents housed, no other member of Congress has testified in front of Congress in their first term about their own abortion story to demand federal protections for abortion rights, and no other member of Congress has been on the frontlines of our healthcare system and our racial justice system and used that experience to introduce transformative legislation to advance a health-centered approach to public safety,” continued Rojas.
Bush delivered a rousing speech after losing the primary, stating that this “takes some strings off…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…They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side,” said Bush. “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 added, “And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
Disrupting the “squad” appears to be a long game for the GOP. Last November, CNN reported how Hill Harper revealed that “a donor offered him $20 million in campaign support if he were to agree to end his Senate bid and instead mount a primary challenge against Rep. Rashida Tlaib.”
Even though Bell denies that pro-Israel groups recruited him to mount a campaign against Bush, some remain suspicious, considering the fact that “he abandoned a challenge for the U.S. Senate and entered the congressional race not long after Jewish organizations in St. Louis began to seek a candidate to take on Bush after accusing her of ‘intentionally fueling antisemitism.’”
But when it comes to the future, according to The Hill, “other high-profile members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), are likely to win reelection handily. And another progressive, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), won her primary challenge earlier this year despite being outspent.”
