Will Missouri Rep. Cori Bush become the second progressive Squad member to be expelled from Congress after falling behind in a tight primary race?
Progressive Squad member Cori Bush is in grave danger of losing her re-election as Missouri voters go to the polls today.
The controversial Democrat is locked in a fierce race against a a centrist challenger who has consistently criticized Bush for her support of pro-Gaza protests and causes.
The polls in Missouri close at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday and her fate will be sealed tonight.
If Bush loses her primary next week, she will be the second Squad member to lose re-election this year.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., lost his primary earlier this summer to a more moderate Democrat.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a progressive “Squad” member and former Black Lives Matter organizer, trailed her Democratic primary opponent Wesley Bell by six points in a poll released just a week before the scheduled election. If she loses to Bell, she will be the second Squad member to lose their primary this year
A shocking poll last week found Bush’s campaign trailing by as much as six points as she seeks to avoid becoming the second progressive member of the Squad to be ousted this year.
The Mellman Group released a poll on behalf of the Democratic Majority For Israel PAC showing Bush’s challenger, St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell, with a 48 percent lead over her, up from 42 percent.
Like Bush’s race against Bell, Bowman’s race in New York revolved around a major issue: the war between Israel and Hamas.
Bowman, a fellow Squad member (at least for now, before he leaves Congress this winter), fiercely defended the Palestinians and condemned the Israelis’ actions as “genocide.”
His reward for his repeated attacks on the Jewish people during the war: a pro-Israel SuperPAC that descended on him.
AIPAC, a pro-Israel political group, spent a huge amount of money fighting Bowman, pumping millions into the campaign of a local administrator.
With the group’s support, George Latimer, a moderate Democrat and Westchester County executive, won an easy primary victory, taking more than 59 percent of the vote, compared to Bowman’s 40 percent.
Meanwhile, in Missouri, Bell has struck a much more moderate tone on the war between Israel and Hamas, while Bush has been vocal in her support of a pro-Gaza policy and has shown her support through anti-Israel protesters. This difference is expected to have consequences for the election.
St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell delivers a speech at the inauguration of Ferguson’s mayor. He has defeated Bush in consecutive Mellman Group polls, suggesting he may be able to unseat the incumbent mayor
And AIPAC clearly wants to use the same tactics as Bowman to force Bush out of office.
“AIPAC members are proud to support strong, pro-Israel, progressive Democrats like Wesley Bell,” AIPAC wrote in a recent statement.
“Cori Bush has been one of the most hostile critics of Israel since entering Congress in 2021 and has actively worked to undermine overall Democratic support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
In the spring, Bush even hosted an event for anti-Israel protesters who had been removed from George Washington University by police for occupying a week-long campus camp.
She and her teammate Rep. Rashida Tlaib celebrated the students’ heroics at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol.
Bush recently skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress last week.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., joined by students from George Washington University, speak during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, after police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent camp near George Washington University early Wednesday morning and arrested protesters.
(L-R) U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, hold signs reading “Stop Sending Bombs” and “Lasting Ceasefire Now” as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2024
Bell has taken a much more moderate tone on the war between Israel and Hamas than Bush, an issue that has proven damning for Jamaal Bowman, who critics say lost his race in part because of his vocal support for Gaza and his condemnations of Israel.
The prosecutor has been beating Bush in recent polls for months, with the former Black Lives Matter organizer consistently trailing him.
The poll, conducted July 21-24 among 400 voters in the district, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%.
The bad news for Bush is that this poll is a big improvement for her opponent Bell.
A June poll by the same group showed him with a narrow one-point lead over the incumbent president, up from 43 percent to Bush’s 42 percent.
In addition to Bush and Bowman, Squad founder Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) also faces a tough Democratic challenger, whom she narrowly defeated in 2022.
The Democratic primary between Bush and Bell is scheduled for August 6.