ST. LOUIS — U.S. Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, one of the most outspoken progressives in the House, lost her primary on Tuesday, falling to a campaign by powerful pro-Israel political groups intent on ousting a fierce critic of the nation’s war in Gaza.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell soundly defeated Bush in a heated race for Congress with deep local and national implications.
Bell’s campaign was boosted by more than $8 million in spending from a super PAC affiliated with the country’s largest pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and other similar entities.
That outside money transformed the race into one of the most expensive House primaries in history.
“I have a lot of anger about this race, no matter what happens,” said Annie Rice, a former St. Louis alderwoman, from Bush’s campaign watch party. “There are a lot of fractures that have opened in our community because of this. And this past week especially. It’s a lot.”
Bush was targeted for her views on the Israel-Hamas war.
At the same time, the race was a test for the party’s newer, progressive movement, and whether it could hold onto power recently gained.
Bush is a member of the “Squad,” a progressive bloc that includes U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman, which has worked to push the Democratic party further left.
Bell, a 49-year-old municipal lawyer, was elected in 2015 to the Ferguson City Council. Three years later, he upset 28-year incumbent St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch. He was reelected in 2022.
Bush, a 48-year-old nurse and minister, lost bids for the U.S. Senate and House before dislodging U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, a 10-term Democrat, in 2020. She won again in 2022.
Both Democrats are self-styled progressives, holding many of the same positions on domestic issues. Both support abortion rights, alternative criminal sentencing policies and curbing police abuses.
But a conflict across the world has since divided them. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 civilians and taking more than 240 hostages.
In the days after the assault, Bush not only spoke out against retaliation by Israel, she issued a call for ending U.S. support for “Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
Bell, seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate at the time, was persuaded in late October to pivot to the House race.
When announcing his switch, Bell said, “We have to stand by our allies. We can’t give aid and comfort to terrorists, and Hamas is a terrorist organization.”
