ST. LOUIS – St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primary in St. Louis.
Bush, a member of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” was seeking a third term in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the city of St. Louis and part of St. Louis County. Bell is heavily favored to govern this overwhelmingly Democratic district in November, when his party aims to regain control of the U.S. House.
Bell’s campaign received a big boost from the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee, whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to unseat Bush. She has been the target of repeated criticism of Israel’s response to the Hamas attack on October 7.
It was a game plan that worked earlier this year in New York. In June, the United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat another member of the Squad – U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.
A statement from the United Democracy Project said Bell and Latimer’s victories, along with John McGuire’s defeat of U.S. Rep. Bob Good in last week’s Republican primary in Virginia, “are further proof that being pro-Israel It’s good politics and good politics on both sides of the aisle. The UDP will continue its efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance, while combating detractors from either political party.”
In October, Bush called Israeli retaliation a “campaign of ethnic cleansing.” Shortly after the Hamas attack, Bush wrote on social media that Israel’s “collective punishment of the Palestinians for the actions of Hamas is a war crime.”
His comments sparked backlash, even among some supporters in his district. Bell, who was planning a Senate run against Republican incumbent Josh Hawley, chose to challenge Bush. He told the Associated Press last month that Bush’s comments about Israel were “wrong and offensive.”
Bush responded by saying that the donors behind AIPAC support former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
“This is just the beginning,” Bush told the AP. “Because if they succeed in removing me, they will continue to go after more Democrats.”
Bush and Bell honed their leadership skills in Ferguson, Missouri, during the unrest that followed the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in 2014. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of Brown’s death.
Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was walking with a friend on August 9, 2014, when a white police officer, Darren Wilson, confronted them. Wilson said he fired in self-defense because Brown was so angry. Some witnesses said Brown, who was unarmed, raised his hands in surrender. Wilson was cleared of any wrongdoing and resigned, and Brown’s death sparked months of protests.
Bush, 48, has become a protest leader. She was outspoken and critical about how police in Ferguson and other parts of the St. Louis region treated black people. Her activism sparked an unsuccessful run against longtime 1st District Democrat William Lacy Clay in 2018 before defeating him in 2020. She easily won re-election in 2022.
Bell, 49, began promoting conversations about community policing after Brown’s death. The lawyer, who previously served as a prosecutor and municipal judge, successfully ran for a seat on the Ferguson City Council before defeating seven-term incumbent St. Louis County Attorney Bob McCulloch in the August 2010 Democratic primary. 2018.
As prosecutor, Bell reopened an inquiry into Brown’s death. He announced in July 2020 that while the investigation did not exonerate Wilson, there was not enough evidence to charge him.
“My heart is broken” for Brown’s parents, Bell said at the time. “I know this is not the outcome they were looking for and their pain will continue forever.”
Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., appeared in a Bush advertisement.
“He used my family for power,” Brown says of Bell in the ad. “And now he’s trying to sell St. Louis.”
Bush’s campaign centered on what she accomplished in St. Louis. She said her efforts brought $2 billion to the 1st District and that it was her protest on the Capitol steps in 2021 that helped extend the federal eviction moratorium as part of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping thousands of St. Louis residents.
Bell touted his own progressive credentials. He noted that as a prosecutor, he has said he will not prosecute any abortion cases in a state that bans the procedure in most cases. He created diversion programs to send people with mental health and substance abuse problems to treatment instead of prison. And his office has expanded efforts to examine potential cases of wrongful convictions.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
