Missouri Representative Cori Bush became the second “Squad” member to get knocked out by the efforts of pro-Israel lobbyists Tuesday night, losing her primary race to St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell.
The race was tight, but Bell held a small but steady margin over Bush as the votes were counted.
The blow-up race became yet another temperature gauge on Democratic divisions over hot-button political issues, including the Israel-Palestine conflict. The fundraising arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—the United Democracy Project PAC—spent more than $7 million on Bell’s campaign to undermine the pro-Palestine Bush’s influence in D.C.
The hotly contested issue made Bush’s race one of the priciest House primaries of all time—though not quite as expensive as New York Representative Jamaal Bowman’s primary, which he lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June over similar issues. More than $23 million was spent on advertising alone in that race.
Bush has argued that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and was one of the first representatives to call for a cease-fire, just weeks after Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Even in the waning days of the race, Bush staunchly defended her position on Israel’s war, which has so far killed more than 39,000 Palestinians. In an interview with The New York Times published Monday, Bush refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization.
“We were called terrorists during Ferguson,” Bush told the publication, referring to the anti-racism protests in Ferguson, Missouri, where she made her name as an activist. “I’m not trying to compare us, but that taught me to be careful about labeling if I don’t know.”
Her campaign later walked back the comment.
Meanwhile, her opponent had aggressively campaigned alongside Jewish advocacy groups in the St. Louis area. That could have helped him cinch the district’s 2.8 percent Jewish population—a demographic that Jewish Democratic Council of America chief of staff Sam Crystal told ABC News could “make the difference” in a close race.
“That he is not just expressing support for the issues that Jewish voters are prioritizing, but taking the time to actually reach out to Jewish voters in the district and to create relationships with the Jewish leaders, has been a big impact on why he’s gained so much support in the district,” Crystal told the outlet on Monday.
Ultimately, there were few policy differences between Bush and Bell. Instead, the election boiled down to foreign policy stances and political rhetoric, according to The Washington Post: a choice between a candidate who would vote alongside the Democratic establishment, or one who would continue to challenge it.
