CNN
—
Missouri Rep. Cory Bush lost his Democratic primary to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, securing another victory for the same pro-Israel groups that helped oust New York Rep. Jamal Bowman six weeks ago.
Bush, a member of the House “squad” of progressive lawmakers like Bowman, was already set for a tough primary in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District — which ended up being the second-costliest primary of the cycle, behind Bowman’s race in New York. . His strong arguments for a cease-fire in Gaza added fuel to the enemy’s fire.
Like Bowman, Bush — despite the support of progressive groups, local leaders and top congressional Democrats — was unable to stop Bell, who, like Bush, rose to prominence a decade ago during the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, was killed by the police.
With his victory Tuesday, Bell will be heavily favored in the general election for the solidly blue St. Louis-area seat. His victory marked the second time in three cycles that a challenger was unseated in the 1st District Democratic primary — Bush defeated Rep. William Lacy Clay in the 2020 race.
Bell first entered electoral politics in 2015, when he won a seat on the Ferguson City Council. Three years later, he became the first black St. Louis County District Attorney, unseating longtime incumbent Robert McCulloch.
“What we had, what he didn’t have was people power,” Bell told supporters in 2018.
But his decision not to press charges against the officer who shot Brown has frustrated some in the community, including Brown’s father, who cut an ad for Bush in the final days of the race: “I feel like (Bell) lied. to us.”
Primarily, Bush tried to cast Bell as a vehicle for corporate donors far removed from the community that elected him — and that he will now represent in Congress next year.
“By supporting our grassroots campaign,” Bush said in a recent fundraising email, “you are standing up to a crooked politician and the influence of big money in politics and demanding real representation for the people of MO-01.”
But his defeat would be a blow to House progressives who rallied around Bowman earlier this year, when he lost the Democratic primary to a more moderate opponent by more than 15 points. Both Bush and Bowman have come under fire from their opponents for registering opposition votes against President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill — which is not what they expected — to pass in 2021. (Only six Democrats, in all, joined most Republicans in opposition.)
“He sold out our president, and he sold out the city of St. Louis,” one man says in one ad. United Democracy Project, the super PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The group spent about $9 million on ads attacking Bush or promoting Bell.
Bush’s infrastructure referendum and his early strident advocacy for an end to the fighting in Gaza were his main vulnerabilities, though his rivals argued that he focused too much on national politics and not enough on his district.
An ad from a mainstream Democrat PAC attacked him for being under federal investigation for alleged misuse of campaign funds for security services. Bush has denied any wrongdoing and says he complied with House rules.
Bell has no shortage of local advisers, but the United Democratic Party’s big spenders include Democratic Majority for Israel, the pro-crypto Fairshake PAC and billionaire Reed Hoffman’s mainstream Democrats.
Bush is the fourth House member to lose a primary this year. In March, at the all-incumbent primary in Alabama, Rep. To Barry Moore, Rep. Jerry Carl lost as the two contested the same seat following redistricting. Bowman lost his primary in June, and last week Virginia Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, conceded the Republican primary after confirming his defeat in June.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s David Wright contributed to this report.
