Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri is in the campaign spotlight, after the first member of the group of progressive and diverse House Democrats went down to defeat in a Democratic Party congressional primary.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York was soundly defeated by Westchester County executive George Latimer on Tuesday in a high-profile and divisive Democratic Party primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District.
Bowman has the dubious honor of becoming the first House member of either party to be defeated by a primary challenger so far in the 2024 election cycle.
And Bowman also became the first member of the “Squad” to be ousted from Congress.
The contentious battle between a member of the “Squad” and his more moderate challenger spotlighted the Democrats’ deep divisions over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Bowman – who has been outspoken about his support for Palestinians amid the war in Gaza and has charged that Israel has committed genocide – was targeted by roughly $14 million in spending by a group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group that supported Latimer.
That spending – part of an overall $25 million shelled out by all sides in the primary to run ads -helped the race earn a page in the record books as the most expensive congressional primary in the nation’s history.
The spotlight may now shift to Missouri’s First Congressional District, a deep blue seat which includes the city of St. Louis and its northern suburbs.
That’s where the second-term Bush is facing a primary challenge from St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell, who is being supported by AIPAC.
The scant polling in the race suggests Bush faces a tough challenge as she seeks renomination in the August 6 primary.
Ahead of Bowman’s double-digit defeat to Latimer, Bush took to social media on Tuesday afternoon to apparently take aim at AIPAC.
“Let me be clear: #WeDecide our future. Not far-right megadonors who want to meddle in our Democratic elections.” she emphasized.
The big question going forward in the Bush-Bell primary is whether DMFI and United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated group that shelled out big bucks to help topple Bowman, will also spend big in the Missouri primary to target Bush, who has also been critical of Israel.
“Squad” members mostly represent deep blue seats with high concentrations of minority voters.
But while New York’s 16th Congressional District, which Bowman represents, includes parts of the New York City borough of the Bronx, most of it lies in the southern half of suburban Westchester County.
While Bowman went down to defeat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – a founding member of the “Squad” – on Tuesday easily won renomination in New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes portions of the Bronx and Queens.
