Controversial Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri on Tuesday became the second “Squad” member to lose in this year’s Democratic primary, following Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Bush, a controversial lawmaker who rose to prominence in the Black Lives Matter movement, was denied a third term after Democratic voters appointed St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell to the seat representing the city and parts of St. Louis County. Pro-Israel groups spent millions of dollars trying to oust Bush, a vocal critic of the Gaza war and the Jewish state.
“We are united in consensus!” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee posted on X after Bell’s victory. “Congratulations to pro-Israel progressive leader @bell4mo on your big win over anti-Israel Rep. Kori Bush!”
Bell’s campaign received significant support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose super-political action committee, the United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to oust Bush. Bell was targeted because of his repeated criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
‘Squad’ Senator Cori Bush loses tough primary against pro-Israel Democrats
Bush delivered his concession speech at a primary viewing party at the Chevre event in St. Louis, Missouri on August 6, 2024. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
It was a strategy that worked in New York earlier this year: In June, the United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat Bowman, another Squad member, but he lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.
“AIPAC and our 4.5 million grassroots members are proud to endorse Wesley Bell!” the group said. “Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!”
In his concession speech, President Bush denounced AIPAC, saying, “They have only radicalized me, so I should be afraid.”
“AIPAC, I am coming to destroy your kingdom,” President Bush declared, “and I’m coming after all these corporations: I am coming after you too!”
President Bush’s defeat was welcomed by conservatives and supporters of Israel.
“Rep. Corey Bush becomes the second team member to lose a primary this election cycle. She and Jamaal Bowman are free to join Hamas together,” Outkick founder Clay Travis posted on X.
The House Democrat is the first member of the division to lose a primary election.
Democratic Representatives of Michigan and Missouri, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, hold signs that read “Stop Sending Bombs” and “Cease Fire Now” as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House of Representatives chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
“Ilhan Omar is next,” said Chaya Raichik, who runs the popular TikTok account “Libs of” on X. “This brigade is too extreme even for Democrats.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), an opponent of the Squad on Capitol Hill, joked that he misses Cori Bush’s committee meetings.
Some on the left have accused AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups of smearing President Bush with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign and even buying seats.
“AIPAC can boast that they’ve taken out another member of their ‘squad,’ but in the end they will be the losers. They and their allies have spent over $13 million to smear and disparage @CoriBush,” said James J. Zogby, founder and president of the American-Arab Institute. “Cori was much loved and their treatment of her will not be forgotten.”
AOC easily wins Democratic primary
Democratic St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell speaks during an interview in Clayton, Missouri, on July 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Eman Abdelhadi, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago, accused AIPAC of using racist tropes to defeat Bush, referring to allegations that the United Democracy Project mailed out distorted photos of President Bush. The super PAC He denied the allegations.He called it “completely false and absurd.”
“AIPAC ran illegal ads against Cori Bush, distorting her face into a racist caricature. This is the state of American politics today. She deserves better than this clown state,” Abdelhadi said.
Brianna Wu, a former congressional candidate and founder of the progressive Rebellion PAC, offered a more nuanced view of Bush’s loss.
“Cori Bush lost tonight because she didn’t take her district seriously and became a national representative for the stupidest progressive ideas, like defunding the police,” Wu said.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“The future of progressive politics is not Bush. [Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim] Waltz.
“Being best friends with an anti-Semite doesn’t help either,” she added.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
