‘Squad’ Member Cori Bush Loses Primary Bid amid Sustained Anti-Israel Rhetoric

In a further setback for the far-left flank of the Democratic Party, “Squad” member Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) lost her House primary bid on Tuesday to St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell. Experts say the loss is a further sign that Democratic voters are not comfortable with the anti-Israel views being espoused by a number of Democratic lawmakers, and may spell trouble for the far-left presidential ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in November.

Bush, who The New York Times recently characterized as an “ultraliberal,” has made criticism of Israel the hallmark of her tenure in Congress in the wake of the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas and the Jewish state’s subsequent war against the terrorist group. Two days after the atrocity that left 1,200 Israelis murdered, Bush called for “ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.” Weeks later, Bush described the Israel Defense Forces’ offensive response in Gaza as “Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign” and a “war crime.”

In addition, Bush was one of nine Democrats to vote against a resolution last October that condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack and supported Israel. Months later, the Squad member was one of only two members in the entire House to vote against a bill that would block terrorist participants in the attack from entering the U.S.

In an interview earlier this week, Bush refused to directly call Hamas — which executed hundreds of defenseless civilians on October 7, including women, children, and infants, and took 251 hostages — a terrorist organization. “Would they qualify to me as a terrorist organization? Yes. But do I know that? Absolutely not,” she stated. “I have no communication with them.”

As a result of Bush’s sustained anti-Israel rhetoric and voting record, the United Democracy Project, American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) super PAC, poured millions of dollars into primary challenger Wesley Bell’s campaign. According to The New York Times, Bell made the case that Bush was “ineffective, prioritizes her ‘squad’ fame in Congress over local results, and showed poor judgment as a legislator, in voting against President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure law.” Other reports note that Bell knocked Bush for “neglecting the district and bucking the Democratic Party on key spending priorities to take ideological stands that could have cost local jobs.”

Bush openly displayed aggression during her concession speech following the primary loss, where she appeared to threaten AIPAC with violence. Leaving Congress “takes some strings off,” she remarked. “… Because now, there are some strings that I have attached. And as much as I love my job, all they did was radicalize me, and now they should be afraid.” She continued, “They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side. … And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”

Matt Carpenter, director of Family Research Council Action, told The Washington Stand that Bush’s loss is the latest in an emerging pattern of Democratic backlash against far-left, openly anti-Israel politicians.

“In June, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was shown the exit by primary voters over concerns with his antagonistic position on Israel, and now Cori Bush is the latest of the anti-Israel Squad to go down in defeat against a more moderate opponent,” he pointed out. “One loss is a blip, two losses are the beginning of a trend. The message Democratic voters are sending their party is that they are uneasy with their party’s resentment toward Israel — especially as threats mount in the region.”

Carpenter further noted that Bush’s loss is likely to have reverberations on the presidential race.

“Bush’s defeat came the same day the Democratic nominee for president, Vice President Kamala Harris, passed over Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Jew and former volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces, as her running mate — instead going with the ultra-progressive Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,” he observed. “Earlier in the cycle, President Biden struggled to gain the support of Muslim voters in key states, and now it appears a mutiny among Jewish voters in the Democratic Party is emerging — a precarious place for the party to be less than 100 days from Election Day.”

Originally published at The Washington Stand!