Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) vowed revenge on a top pro-Israel PAC after she lost the primary in her reelection campaign Tuesday. The group boosted her opponent in a tightly contested race, knocking off a second member of the progressive “squad” this cycle.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) super PAC, United Democracy Project, was a top funder of Bush’s opponent, St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell. Bush was harshly criticized for her outspoken criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Bush said in a fiery speech after her loss that leaving Congress will only “takes some strings off.”
“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 said.
“They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side,” she continued. “There is nothing that happens in my life that happens in vain. So, this happened because it was meant to happen. And let me say, it’s because of the work that I need to do.”
“And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!” she added to cheers.
The “squad” member has called the ongoing Gaza war “Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign,” and earlier this year introduced the Ceasefire Now Resolution. Some of her rhetoric has been met with backlash from other congressional members, but also constituents in her own district.
“I think [her] comments show a lack of understanding of the nuance and complexities of an issue that’s literally hundreds of years in the making,” Bell said when he announced his campaign.
According to Sludge, AIPAC helped raise two-thirds of the campaign funding for Bell. The United Democracy Project spent more than $7 million to oust Bush.
Bush is the second “squad” member to lose a primary this cycle, after Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was also defeated by an opponent that received significant support from AIPAC. After his loss last month, some progressives sounded the alarm over the group’s influence.
“I think we need to have a real conversation about the AIPAC,” Ocasio-Cortez said after Bowman’s defeat.
The group is controversial in some Democratic circles, because it has boosted conservative candidates throughout its history, and some of its funding comes from top GOP donors.
“I think that what we do need to have a real conversation about is how a Republican — primarily Republican and largely Republican-financed — organization is playing and dumping money and playing an extremely divisive role in the Democratic Party,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who won her primary the same night Bowman lost.
Tuesday’s primary result, combined with Bowman’s loss, slims the “squad’s” roster from nine to seven members of Congress. The group’s original four members, elected together in 2018, are expected to remain.
AIPAC has pushed back on the accusation that it is trying to sow discord among Democrats by inserting itself into primaries, telling The Hill earlier this year that it is “the largest PAC contributor to Democratic candidates.”
“Our political action committee supports the Democratic leadership and nearly half of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus,” the group said in a statement. “In addition, our affiliated super PAC supported a number of Democratic progressive candidates in the last election cycle, who defeated anti-Israel candidates in their primary, won their general election, and are currently serving in Congress. We believe that it is entirely consistent with progressive values to stand with the Jewish state.”
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