Down Goes Cori Bush

AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

The “Squad” just keeps getting smaller. First, they lost Jamaal Bowman and now Cori Bush has been defeated in the Democratic primary in Missouri by St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell. It appears that the only issue that really was in contention was the war in Gaza. Bell ran as a pro-Israel alternative to Bush, while she was unwilling to even call Hamas a terrorist organization. The race wasn’t a complete blowout for Cori Bush, but it also wasn’t particularly close. The AP called it for Bell by 11 o’clock last night when the margin was too wide for Bush to make up the difference with the remaining, uncounted ballots. Apparently you can get away with being pro-terrorist with the Democrats in Michigan, but not in Missouri. National Review:

Representative Cori Bush (D., Mo.), the progressive “Squad” member who recently stopped short of calling Hamas a terrorist organization, lost a competitive House primary bid Tuesday night against St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell, who positioned himself as a pro-Israel alternative during the race.

The Associated Press called Bell’s primary victory at 11 p.m. EDT. He will now vie for Bush’s place in the House come November, facing the winner of Tuesday’s GOP primary in a district that President Joe Biden won by more than 60 points in 2020.

The congresswoman has represented Missouri’s first congressional district, which covers St. Louis and the northern part of St. Louis County, since 2021.

Bell had plenty of help in launching and executing his primary challenge. Much like Westchester County executive George Latimer, who defeated Jamaal Bowman earlier this summer in New York, Bell was backed by AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobbying group’s political arm, United Democracy Project. Those groups invested at least nine million dollars into promoting Bell’s campaign and touting his pro-Israel bona fides. 

On Monday, when the polls were strongly suggesting that Bush was on the way to defeat, Bowman expressed his sympathy for her during a conference call held by the Squad. He reportedly said that he knew “exactly what you’re going through.” He told her, “I know what it feels like to be constantly bombarded with ads and mailers and lies and B.S. that completely distorts who you are and your record.”

Not for nothing, but that’s a fairly pathetic example of wallowing in self-pity. Being “bombarded with ads and mailers” is nothing more than a textbook example of waging a political campaign against a rival. In this case, the rival may have been from the same party, but it was someone who had taken such an extreme position regarding Israel and Hamas that her own people were moved to stage a revolt. Despite the breathless media coverage of all of the pro-Hamas riots on college campuses and in a few communities around Detroit, supporting Hamas and opposing Israel is a broadly unpopular position in the United States. That apparently includes the St. Louis area.

Of course, this primary defeat isn’t going to wind up producing any significant shift in the congressional landscape. Cori Bush represents a district that Joe Biden carried by more than 60 points in 2020, as noted above. They won’t suddenly all turn into Trump voters this year. And aside from supporting Israel, Bell will support all of the same policies that Bush did. But it will still be a relief to have one less Squad member sucking up air time in the chamber with endless, radical left speeches. Adios, Congresswoman Bush. Perhaps you and Jamaal Bowman can go console yourselves over a few cocktails and go out to pull a few fire alarms together.