Squad Democrat Cori Bush now risks being ousted from Congress after Jamaal Bowman’s crushing primary defeat, bombshell polling reveals

Another member of the leftmost congressional bloc risks being toppled by a moderate Democrat as her challenger mounts a huge comeback.

Cori Bush, one of the House of Representatives’ “squad” of progressive representatives, is in a standoff with St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, new polling shows.

The Mellman Group’s survey of 400 registered voters in Missouri’s 1st District put Bush at 42 percent, behind Bell’s 43 percent.

The Mellman Group is the same pollster that correctly predicted the 16.8-point drubbing handed to Jamaal Bowman on Tuesday.

The April poll gave Westchester County Executive George Latimer a 52 to 35 percent lead over Bowman.

Bush suddenly finds himself in a street fight with Bell after looking confident in January when she had a 45 to 29 percent lead.

However, the poll is not conducted by a nonpartisan pollster, as Mark Mellman is the chairman of DMFI PAC – a lobbying group that seeks to elect pro-Israel Democrats.

“As voters learn more about Cori Bush’s record in Washington in opposing the Biden-Harris agenda, they are choosing Wesley Bell to represent them in Congress,” he said of the poll.

There was more bad news in the poll, conducted June 18 to 22, as 11 percent of respondents are undecided and momentum is on Bell’s side.

“Bell’s vote and margins have increased in every major demographic group – among whites and blacks, among men and women, among those over and under 50 years old, and both inside and outside the city of St. Louis,” Melman said.

“This primary is essentially the same, but it’s clearly going Wesley Bell’s way.”

Mellman said Bush was still viewed positively, but ratings of her and her performance were trending in a negative direction.

“Bell’s image is improving, giving him an underlying image advantage,” he said.

“Bell has an edge over Bush in both preference ratings and job performance ratings.

“A majority of 61 percent give Bell positive evaluations for the work he does as a prosecutor in St. Louis County, while only 27 percent give negative evaluations.”

Many “Squad” members like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Summer Lee are in safe districts and faced little or no primary opposition.

But Bowman and Bush were vulnerable to attack from the deep pockets of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The donor group dumped $20 million into Bowman’s opponent, making it the most expensive House primary in history.

Most members of the voting bloc are staunchly pro-Palestine and have sharply criticized the Israeli government’s behavior during the bombing and invasion of Gaza.

Bowman had the added problem that his district has a significant Jewish population, which his criticism dismissed.

But many Democrats believed Bowman was largely destroying his own chances by failing to effectively represent his constituents.

“I think he just became his own worst enemy,” said Congresswoman Lois Frankel Politics.

Congressman Brad Schneider agreed: “I see this as a member who failed to represent the people who sent him there. And they decided they wanted another representative.”

Democrats pointed out that most of AIPAC’s advertising was not about Bowman’s position on Israel, but about Latimer being a better lawmaker.

Bush also faces specific problems: the Justice Department is investigating her over her campaign’s security spending.

She hired her current husband Cortney Merritts as a security guard for tens of thousands of dollars.

Bush denied wrongdoing and pointed out that a report from Congress’ ethics watchdog cleared her of any wrongdoing.