US Representative Cori Bush said that she will go after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee after she lost a bitter and expensive primary battle driven by Democratic divisions over the war in Gaza.
“AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down,” the Missouri Democrat said in a fiery speech following her defeat to local prosecutor Wesley Bell.
The loss is the second for a member of the “squad” — an informal group of progressives in the US House. Just weeks earlier, Representative Jamaal Bowman, another Israel critic, lost a primary in the New York suburbs to George Latimer, who was also backed by AIPAC.
The organization spent heavily on attack ads, but both campaigns also focused on how the squad members voted against President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill and attacked the candidates for being ineffective representatives. Bush, who was reluctant to label Hamas a terrorist group, was also being investigated by the Justice Department over allegations she misused government funds.
With 94% of the votes counted, Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, had 51% support compared with about 46% for Bush, reported.
Bell, who benefited from $9.5 million in ad spending from pro-Israel groups, according to AdImpact, had implored voters to “stand with Israel,” drawing a sharp contrast with the two-term Democrat who has accused Israel of committing war crimes in its response to the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas. The US and European Union deem Hamas a terrorist organization.
The Bush and Bowman losses are a blow to US opponents of Israel’s Gaza invasion and diminish the congressional influence of the squad, a small group that has often clashed with more moderate Democrats.
The St. Louis-area district is a Democratic stronghold and the majority of residents are non-White and nearly half are Black. The district includes Ferguson, where 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by a White police officer in 2014, sparking protests. Bush has said she was maced and beaten by police during those protests.
Nearly 18% of residents in the district live below the poverty line, about 1.4 times the rate statewide, making economic issues among the area’s top concerns.
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Bush, a registered nurse who once was homeless, toppled 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in the Democratic primary in 2020. In 2022, she won the primary by nearly 43 percentage points. But the influx of outside cash from pro-Israel groups unexpectedly made it a competitive race.
“Because I called for a cease-fire, AIPAC is upset about that,” Bush said in an interview before the primary. “It’s against what they want, and they are willing to put their money behind it.“
Bell didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s requests for an interview.
Bell raised $4.8 million for his campaign, including backing from Wall Street donors. Among those who gave his campaign the maximum of $3,300 for the primary are Willoughby Capital Management founder Daniel Och, Sessa Capital’s John Petry, and Daniel Loeb of Third Point LLC.
“Cori Bush is one of the most bellicose, most vituperative anti-Israel voices in the United States Congress, and we think she doesn’t belong there,” said Mark Mellman, DMFI PAC Chairman, one of the pro-Israel organizations backing Bell.
Bush raised $2.9 million. She received contributions from Karla Jurvetson, a major Democratic donor, and Andrew Dudum, co-founder of telemedicine company Hims and Hers Health Inc.
Justice Democrats, a political action committee that supports progressive candidates, spent $2.4 million on Bush’s behalf.
Divided Democrats
Progressives argued that the massive amounts raised by Israel supporters are intrusive in local races.
“This would not be a race without AIPAC lifting up this man,“ said Usamah Andrabi, the communications director of Justice Democrats, a PAC that supports Bush and other squad members.
The House’s No. 2 Democrat, Katherine Clark, visited Bush’s district and co-hosted a reproductive health round-table with local elected officials and community organizations. Other members who campaigned with Bush include Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Delia Ramirez.
However, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned for fellow New Yorker Bowman, and other squad members didn’t stump for Bush in the run up to the primary. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has not provided financial support to either of the candidates.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
