Rep. Cori Bush lost her reelection bid in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday to a Democratic primary candidate backed by a massive influx of spending from AIPAC, which targeted the progressive incumbent over her early calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, enjoyed a huge cash advantage over Bush, with nearly two-thirds of his campaign money coming from fundraising efforts by AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP).
UDP, which has been bankrolled by ultra-wealthy Republicans, spent around $8.5 million to oust Bush, the second Squad member to lose to an AIPAC-backed primary opponent this election cycle. AIPAC pledged earlier this year to spend $100 million attacking progressive candidates, and the organization has thus far been the largest source of Republican money flowing into competitive Democratic primaries this year.
The Intercept’s Akela Lacy reported that in Tuesday’s race, 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,” Lacy added.
Bell, who also raised money directly from Republican billionaires and previously served as campaign manager for a GOP candidate, narrowly defeated Bush, winning 51.2% of the vote compared to the incumbent’s 45.6% — a margin of fewer than 7,000 votes.
In a fiery speech to supporters following her defeat, Bush said that by “pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take some of the strings off.”
Bush, who was elected to the House in 2020, went on to directly address AIPAC’s role in what became one of the most expensive congressional primaries in U.S. history.
“AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down,” said Bush. “And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I’m coming after you too. But I’m not coming by myself. I’m coming with all the people that’s in here, that’s doing the work.”
Justice Democrats, a progressive organization that helped propel Bush to victory in 2020 and backed her reelection bid, said following Tuesday’s contest that “no matter what a singular super PAC can spend to try and buy an election, nothing can take away from the transformational effect Cori Bush has directly had on the people of St. Louis.”
“That power — of everyday people to transform what we can expect from our political system — is such a threat to right-wing power, corporate interests, and AIPAC’s influence, that a coalition of GOP-funded Super PACs had to spend over $12 million to even have a chance at defeating it,” the group said in a statement posted to social media. “As AIPAC’s influence in Congress wanes and the right-wing network propping it up is exposed, AIPAC has to spend historic amounts to continue advancing their interests at the expense of the Democratic mainstream that overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire and an end to genocide in Gaza.”
Bush was one of the original sponsors of a congressional resolution calling for an end to Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, which has dragged on for 10 months and left nearly 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to official tallies that are likely a vast undercount given the number of people missing under ruins and in mass graves.
“We can’t bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom,” Bush said as she introduced the resolution alongside her progressive House colleagues on October 16. “With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a cease-fire now.”
Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said Tuesday that “without the deluge of misleading advertisements” attacking Bush, she “would be headed to Congress for another term next year.”
“Tonight’s results should be a warning sign to anyone who cares about our democracy,” said Shiney-Ajay. “If Democratic Party leaders don’t stand against AIPAC and right-wing billionaires, they undermine our democracy and risk disillusioning the young voters and voters of color we need to defeat the far-right.”
Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese echoed that message, saying in a statement that “tonight’s outcome puts the blatantly undemocratic nature of Democratic Party primaries on full display.”
“Cori Bush had the moral courage to speak out against her constituents’ taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza. As a result, AIPAC and its MAGA Republican-funded super PAC spent more than $8.4 million to buy her congressional seat,” said Geevarghese.
“Democratic Party elites have spent years decrying Trump as an existential threat to democracy,” he added, “yet they are resoundingly silent when wealthy conservative donors unseat a true working-class champion who was among the first federal lawmakers to endorse Kamala Harris in her historic candidacy for president.”
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