Progressives were dealt a major blow in Tuesday night’s primary when Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) became the second member of the “squad” to lose to an opponent this cycle.
Coming just hours after Vice President Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as his running mate, in a move seen as a victory for the progressive wing of the party, Bush’s defeat put a spotlight on internal friction. party on the Israel-Hamas war.
Along with Missouri, voters also went to the polls in the states of Kansas, Michigan and Washington to mark important clashes for November.
Here are five lessons:
Cori Bush’s defeat raises questions for the “squad”
The biggest showdown of Tuesday night was in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, where Bush was expected to lose to St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell.
Bush’s defeat makes her the second member of the team to lose re-election after Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) lost his New York seat earlier this year.
Bell, who defeated a longtime incumbent to win back his prosecutor position in 2018, withdrew his candidacy for the Senate to compete for Bush’s seat in the House this cycle. The race attracted major outside spending amid growing anger over Bush’s stance on Israel, as well as other controversies surrounding him, including a federal investigation into how she was using campaign funds.
His defeat will raise new questions about the future of progressive power in Congress and could put the team in a defensive posture from November onwards. In particular, it could force progressives to consider how to defeat well-funded primary opponents like Bell.
That said, not all of the news this election cycle has been bad for the team — other high-profile members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich. .) will probably win re-election handily. And another progressive, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), won her main challenge earlier this year despite spending big.
Another big win for AIPAC
Bush’s defeat in the primaries was also the latest victory for the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobbying organization that has increasingly flexed its muscle in the primaries over the past two years.
AIPAC’s super PAC spent heavily to unseat her in the primary, reportedly investing more than $8 million in the race. The group also spent millions to elevate Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the race for Bowman’s seat in New York’s 16th Congressional District, fueling progressive outrage.
The group’s opposition to Bush came in response to his vocal criticism of Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.
She was one of the few members of the House who opposed a resolution expressing support for Israel last year, and when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress last month, Bushcalledit is “repulsive that Congress gave him a standing ovation.”
When Bowman was removed, BushcalledAIPAC a “threat to democracy” and accused the group of working to “silence the voices of progress and justice.”
The Bush primaries are just the latest example of the Israel-Hamas war looming over the Democratic Party in this cycle’s election contests. Before exiting the race for the White House, Biden faced substantial backlash over the administration’s handling of the conflict.
A key Senate race is solidified
Tuesday night solidified Michigan’s November Senate race, one of the key contests that will help determine control of the upper chamber.
Three-term Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) was projected to win the Democratic primary in her bid to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), while former Rep. Mike Rogers (R- Mich.), backed by Trump, won his Republican primary.
Rogers was recruited by the Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm to run for the seat, with the party seeing this as a key turnaround opportunity. Republicans are excited about what some say is the party’s best map in years to win the Senate, which Democrats currently hold by a slim majority.
Slotkin is competing with Stabenowendorsement and predictions from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ show she has a 66 percent chance of defeating Rogers in November.
The Great Lakes State is also a crucial battleground in the presidential race.
After Biden saw significant protest votes from his own party in the Michigan primary earlier this year, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed the Senate race to a “scramble.” Now, with just over 90 days until Election Day, it’s unclear how the newly formed Harris-Walz ticket will impact the fight for the Upper House seat, though many Democrats argue that the new vice president’s roots in the Middle -West will help the party in traditional “blue wall” states.
A pro-impeachment Republican fights for survival
One of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol is fighting to keep his seat in Washington state’s 4th Congressional District.
On Tuesday night, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) appeared poised to emerge from a crowded nonpartisan primary alongside Trump-backed Republican Jerrod Sessler, setting off a competitive general race. However, there were still many ballots to count at the time of publication and Newhouse was not far ahead of Republican candidate Tiffany Smiley, who was in third place.
Newhouse defeated Sessler and Trump-backed Loren Culp in the primary two years ago and was re-elected to the red seat in central Washington midterm.
But his impeachment vote made him a continued political target. In endorsing Sessler this cycle, Trump called Newhouse “a weak, pathetic RINO” who “voted, for no reason, to impeach me.”
Newhouse is one of only two pro-impeachment Republican lawmakers left in the lower chamber, and his fall race will be a test ofsurvival against Trump’s furyat the Republicans who turned against him after January 6th.
Election conspiracies may have cost Kansas official his job
The sheriff of Kansas’ most populous county appeared poised to lose his reelection bid Tuesday amid frustration over a controversial investigation into alleged voter fraud.
Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden launched an investigation after the 2020 election, despite claims from local authorities that there was no widespread fraud such asreportedby Associated Press.
Hayden halted the investigation last month after failing to file any criminal charges andfueling suspiciontoward state and local election systems, The Kansas City Starreported.
On Tuesday, Hayden appeared poised to be defeated in the GOP primary by Republican Doug Bedford, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who served as Hayden’s boss.undersherifffrom 2017 to 2021. He will face Democrat Byron Roberson, thepolice chiefof Prairie Village in the fall.
The incumbent’s likely defeat comes after he ran unopposed four years earlier and signals divisions among Republicans in the state over allegations of voter fraud.
Former President Trump refused to commit to accepting the 2024 results and continued to praise hisdebunked claims that the 2020 election was stolenhim, while some party members have pressured their Republican colleagues to move on from the last cycle.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
