After Jamaal Bowman, Pro-Israel PAC Targets Another US House Progressive

(Left) Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) speaks outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 22, 2023. (Right) St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell speaks at an interview in Clayton, Miss., on July 29, 2019. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Just Majority, Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which this year helped push a member of the left-wing House faction known as the “Squad” out of office, is now trying to hasten the exit of another.

On Aug. 6, primary voters in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District will decide if Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) should receive the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent north St. Louis in Washington for a third year.

AIPAC’s allied super political action committee, the United Democracy Project committee, is spending more than $6 million against the incumbent congresswoman.

AIPAC, which is focused on lobbying for pro-Israel policies in Washington, is looking to oust Ms. Bush in response to her anti-Israel views.

AIPAC didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Epoch Times.

Already this year, the super PAC spent about $14.6 million to oppose Mr. Bowman in New York’s 16th Congressional District primary.

It threw its support behind Westchester County Executive George Latimer, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. Mr. Latimer comfortably won the Democratic Party primary in that district on June 25.

In a solidly Democratic district, Mr. Latimer is likely to prevail in November and represent the district in the 119th Congress.

From Ferguson to Washington

The winner of the Aug. 6 primary is likely headed to Congress, too.

Missouri’s 1st Congressional District covers St. Louis and most of its northern suburbs bordered by the Missouri River. The area is mainly urban and black. In the 2020 election, the district supported President Joe Biden by a 62 percent margin.

From 1969 to 2020, the district was represented by former congressman Bill Clay and his son, former congressman Lacy Clay. Both were Democrats.

Ms. Bush burst onto the national political scene in 2019 with the debut of a Netflix-produced documentary detailing her first run against Mr. Clay. The film “Knock Down The House” favorably portrayed Ms. Bush and other progressive female candidates—including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—as attempting to push out long-term “big money politicians” in their respective districts.

In 2018, Ms. Bush finished far behind Mr. Clay in the Democratic Party primary. This was after an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 2016.

However, in 2020, Ms. Bush defeated Mr. Clay by about 4,400 votes in the primary en route to a general election win. She was reelected by a wide margin in both the 2022 Democratic Party primary and general election.

Mr. Clay, now a senior policy adviser at New York law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Ms. Bush’s political activism began in 2014 as the death of Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, and subsequent protests drew national attention. Before that, she worked as a nurse and pastor.

In Washington, Ms. Bush gained a reputation as one of the most progressive Democrats in the House. Shortly after joining Congress, she announced she had joined the Squad along with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mass.), and Mr. Bowman.

Three Opponents

Ms. Bush is facing off against three other Democratic candidates: Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County; State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who is also a former Missouri state senator; and political newcomer Ron Harshaw. According to polling, Mr. Bell is the leading challenger.

Mr. Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri, since 2019, was formerly a city councilman in Ferguson, Missouri. He was elected to that position in 2015. The candidate has also worked as a prosecutor in Riverview, Missouri, and as a municipal court judge in Velda City, Missouri.

According to its most recent tax return, AIPAC, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization working to “strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship,” is endorsing Mr. Bell. On its website, AIPAC says all of its endorsed Democratic candidates have won their primary races so far in the 2024 cycle.

When Mr. Bowman was defeated, AIPAC congratulated Mr. Latimer on his “resounding victory over an anti-Israel detractor.”

“This triumph by a strong pro-Israel candidate represents a major victory for the Democratic mainstream that stands with the Jewish state and a defeat for the extremist fringe,” the group said in an X post on June 25.

In its endorsement message for Mr. Bell, AIPAC says he is a “strong pro-Israel candidate.”

“We must continue to rally the global community in support of Israel and in condemnation of Hamas,” Mr. Bell said in the AIPAC endorsement message.

In contrast, AIPAC said Ms. Bush is “a leading anti-Israel voice in Congress.”

In the House, Ms. Bush has repeatedly called for a cease-fire in the nearly year-old conflict and for the United States to end aid to Israel. She’s also said the Jewish state is committing a “war crime” and an “ethnic cleansing campaign” against Palestinians.

Representatives of Ms. Bush did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. However, in a May 16 video campaign message published on X, she said she will “keep demanding justice from St. Louis to Gaza” if reelected.

Few polls of the district are publicly available. However, the latest poll published in late June—conducted by The Mellman Group—found the race is a “dead heat” between Ms. Bush and Mr. Bell.

A memo attached to the poll of 400 voters conducted between June 18 and June 22 said Mr. Bell is viewed more favorably than Ms. Bush and has much higher job approval ratings than the incumbent.

The poll found 43 percent of voters backed Mr. Bell while 42 percent backed Ms. Bush. Out of the remainder, 11 percent said they are still undecided, and 4 percent said they will vote for another candidate.

However, that is a substantial change from January, when 45 percent said they would vote for Ms. Bush and 29 percent said they would do so for Mr. Bell.

“Among the most regular primary voters—those who voted in 3 of the most recent primaries—Bell leads by 10 points,” the June 25 Mellman poll memo said. “This race can go either way, but Bell has achieved a slight advantage.”

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2020 Conference in Washington on March 2, 2020. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Influence Campaign

The United Democracy Project is putting its thumb on the scale for Mr. Bell with a massive campaign against Ms. Bush. On July 23, the super PAC linked to AIPAC told the FEC it had spent about $6.1 million on media production, placement, direct mail, and phone banking against Ms. Bush.

According to FEC records, in 2022, AIPAC gave $10.5 million to the fund, about a third of the money it raised that year.

Representatives of Mr. Bell did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) questions former Special Counsel Robert Hur testifies during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, on March 12, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On a webpage describing his stance on the issues, Mr. Bell’s campaign praises Israel and says the country has a right to self-defense. On July 5, a blog written by AdImpact’s Caroline Kness said the super PAC spent $14.9 million against Mr. Bowman. That accounted for 59 percent of overall spending on the race. AdImpact, a firm that tracks political spending, said the June contest was the most expensive House primary in history.

One of the super PAC’s ads highlights Ms. Bush’s “no” votes on infrastructure bills backed by President Joe Biden.

“Cori Bush has her own agenda, and it’s hurting St. Louis,” the ad says. Ms. Kness said similar ads were used against Mr. Bowman in New York.

In a July 12 email to supporters, Ms. Bush called out AIPAC, “their super PAC and their network of far-right GOP megadonors.” The message claimed the group will spend as much as $20 million to “buy this seat for my opponent.”

“They’re coming after me because I’m pro-St. Louis, pro-reproductive freedom, pro-peace, and pro-humanity,” Ms. Bush said in her email. “It should not be controversial to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the ongoing massacre of Palestinians.”

According to the FEC, most of the donors who gave $1 million or more to the United Democracy Project typically contribute to Republicans or conservative groups.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.