Progressive Squad member Rep. Cori Bush is in real danger of losing her reelection bid as her Democratic challenger has surged in recent polling.
The Missouri Democrat is in a hotly-contested race against a centrist challenger who has been hammering Bush for her record of supporting pro-Gaza protests and causes.
A shocking survey one week out from the primary race shows Bush’s campaign trailing by a massive six points as she looks to avoid being the second progressive Squad member ousted this year.
If Bush loses her primary next week it would make her the second Squad member to lose reelection this year after Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., lost his primary to a more moderate Democrat earlier this summer.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-mo., a progressive ‘Squad’ member and former Black Lives Matter organizer, was six points behind her Democratic primary opponent Wesley Bell in a poll released just one week before the scheduled election. If she loses to Bell, she will be the second Squad member to lose their primary elections this year
The Mellman Group on behalf of the Democratic Majority For Israel PAC released a poll this week showing Bush’s challenger St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell ahead of her 48 percent to 42 percent.
Similar to Bush’s race against Bell, Bowman’s race in New York hinged on a key issue: the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman, a fellow member of the Squad (at least for now before he leaves Congress this winter), fiercely defended Palestinians and decried the Israeli’s actions as ‘genocide.’
His reward for repeatedly attacking the Jewish nation’s wartime conduct: a pro-Israel SuperPAC coming after him.
AIPAC, a pro-Israel political group, spent massively against Bowman, pumping millions upon millions into the campaign of a local county executive.
With the support of the group, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat, sailed to an easy primary win, securing over 59 percent of the vote compared to Bowman’s 40 percent.
Meanwhile in Missouri, Bell has had a much tamer tone on the Israel-Hamas war while Bush has loudly advocated for pro-Gaza policies and has thrown her support by anti-Israel protestors, a difference that is expected to impact the race.
St. Louis County Prosecutor, Wesley Bell gives remarks during the Ferguson mayoral inauguration. He has beat Bush in consecutive polls from the Mellman Group, possibly indicating he could unseat the incumbent
And AIPAC is clearly looking to replicate their maneuver against Bowman to strong arm Bush out of office.
‘AIPAC’s grassroots members are proud to support strong pro-Israel progressive Democrats like Wesley Bell,’ an AIPAC wrote statement recently.
‘Cori Bush has been one of the most hostile critics of Israel since she came to Congress in 2021 and has actively worked to undermine mainstream Democratic support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.’
In the spring Bush even hosted an event for anti-Israel protestors that were removed by police from George Washington University for squatting on campus property in an encampment for a week.
She and fellow Squad mate Rep. Rashida Tlaib celebrated the students’s heroics at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol.
More recently Bush skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress last week.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accompanied by George Washington University students speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, after police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested demonstrators.
(L-R) US Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, and US Representative Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, hold signs reading ‘Stop Sending Bombs’ and ‘Lasting Ceasefire Now’ as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024
Bell has had a much tamer tone on the Israel-Hamas war than Bush, an issue that proved to be damning for Jamaal Bowman, who critics believe lost his race, in part, because of his loud support of Gaza and condemnations of Israel
The prosecutor has beat Bush in recent polls for months, showing the former Black Lives Matter organizer consistently behind him.
The poll, which was conducted from July 21-24 among 400 in-district voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%.
The bad news for Bush is that this poll is a major improvement for her opponent Bell.
In June a poll from the same group found him leading the incumbent by a narrow one point margin, up 43 percent to Bush’s 42 percent.
In addition to Bush and Bowman, Squad founding member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is also facing a difficult Democratic primary challenger who she narrowly beat in 2022.
The Democratic primary between Bush and Bell is scheduled for August 6.
