Democratic Representative Cori Bush lost her primary bid for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District to Wesley Bell, the current St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. The loss marks the second time a member of the informally named “squad”, a group of nine far-left House members, has been beaten in a primary. Bell garnered 51.2% of the votes compared to Bush’s 45.6%, according to The New York Times.
Bush, known for her pro-Palestinian stance in the Israel-Hamas conflict and labeling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal”, recently faced significant polling deficits and criticism. Her stance led pro-Israeli groups like the American Israel Affairs Public Committee (AIPAC) and the Jewish Democratic Council of America to lend their support to opponent Wesley Bell. AIPAC even spent nearly $9 million on advertisements against Bush.
Bush made some imflammatory comments at her speech proceeding her loss, saying that she has not been defeated, but “radicalized”.