Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush narrowly lost the Democratic congressional primary on Tuesday against St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell, a challenger backed by the leading pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The race was AIPAC’s second targeted attack on a Squad member this cycle.
With roughly 95 percent of precincts reporting election results, Bush trailed by less than 6,000 of the 112,000 cast. The Associated Press called the race two hours after polls closed.
After spending more than $17 million to topple Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., in July, AIPAC shifted its focus toward ousting Bush. The group poured more than $8 million into the race to unseat Bush in less than two months.
Outside groups dumped $18.2 million into the race. Bell’s backers outspent groups supporting Bush roughly four to one. AIPAC’s super PAC spent $8.5 million backing Bell’s campaign. Democratic Majority for Israel PAC spent half a million and Major Democratic donor Reid Hoffman’s Mainstream Democrats PAC spent $1.5 million in support of Bell.
Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party spent just under $3 million in support of Bush
The infusion of cash made the race the fourth most expensive primary in House history, according to the Working Families Party.
AIPAC’s money was spent on voter engagement efforts and phone banking in addition to digital and mail ads. One of the mailers, first reported by The Intercept, included images that distorted Bush’s features. AIPAC also helped bundle at least two-thirds of Bell’s campaign haul, Sludge reported.
Bush’s loss marks another victory for a pro-Israel movement seeking to silence critics of Israel’s human rights abuses and its ongoing war on Gaza.
Bush was one of the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian American member of Congress. Tlaib won her uncontested primary Tuesday after AIPAC’s efforts to recruit a challenger failed.
Bush was first elected in 2020 when she beat former Rep. William Lacy Clay in the Democratic primary by less than three points. The win marked a seismic shift in St. Louis politics and the end of the Clay dynasty, which represented the area for a half-century.
Bowman and Bush’s wins that year grew the incipient Squad from four to six, and, with the victories, progressives’ hopes for building a base in Congress that could work toward policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and criminal justice reforms.
Bell built his career as a reformer, elected as the first Black lead prosecutor in St. Louis County on a platform of police accountability and restorative justice reforms. He beat a three-decade incumbent who failed to indict the police officer who killed Michael Brown in 2014. Some prosecutors working in the office were so enraged by Bell’s win that they joined the police union.
In a phone call last summer, Bell promised Bush he would not run against her. At the time, he was running for the U.S. Senate in Missouri. As AIPAC beefed up its campaign last fall to oust Squad members over ceasefire calls, Bell abandoned the Senate run and entered the House race.
As the congressional race heated up, Bell’s critics in Missouri said he had failed to follow through on promises he made while campaigning for prosecutor. Civil rights groups published a report last month criticizing Bell’s office for failing to implement reforms and overseeing a steady rise in the jail population during his time in office. Others noted that while he campaigned on not seeking the death penalty, he let death penalty cases proceed without a challenge.
Bell’s critics have also complained about comments he made shortly after Brown’s killing in 2014 that downplayed the racial divide in Ferguson.
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After Michael Brown’s Killing, Wesley Bell Called for “Accountability on Both Sides” in Ferguson Racism
AIPAC Used Distorted Photo of Cori Bush in $7 Million Negative Ad Blitz
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Half-Hearted Efforts by Democratic Leaders Couldn’t Save Jamaal Bowman From AIPAC’s Attacks
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