'Squad' Democrat Could Lose Her Seat In Contentious Primary, Declines To Call Hamas A Terrorist Organization

The Missouri primary election takes place on Tuesday, but the most consequential primary in the Republican-dominated state isn't amongst the GOP but is centered around radical 'Squad' Democrat Cori Bush (D-MO). The St. Louis representative had made a name for herself in recent years for her progressive policy stances and anti-Israel positions amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

In response to her anti-Israel rhetoric and voting history, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has spent considerably to oust her from Congress by backing primary opponent Wesley Bell. During an interview with The New York Times, Bush declined to call Hamas, the terror organization that killed over 1,000 Israelis on October 7 and took hundreds more hostage, a terrorist organization.

"We were called terrorists during Ferguson," she told The Times, in reference to her activism during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2014 after the death of Michael Brown. "Have they hurt people? Absolutely. Has the Israeli military hurt people? Absolutely."

"Would they qualify to me as a terrorist organization? Yes. But do I know that? Absolutely not," she said. "I have no communication with them. All I know is that we were considered terrorists, we were considered Black identity extremists, and all we were doing was trying to get peace. I'm not trying to compare us, but that taught me to be careful about labeling if I don't know."

The Missouri Democrat went on to explain that AIPAC has been active in ousting anti-Israel Democrats in other primaries. "You can't buy members of Congress, and you can't scare them. That's why we take those votes," she said. "We only operate under attack; if it's me today, it's Rashida Tlaib tomorrow. We knew that coming in the door." Rep. Tlaib (D-MI) and other 'Squad' Democrats like Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) have had millions of dollars in negative ads spent against them in their primary races, leading to each of them having competitive races. This spending led Rep. Bowman to lose his primary earlier this year.

The progressive Democrat's position on the war across the globe has landed her in hot water with AIPAC and other political action committees spending heavily, over $8 million, in her district primary. While her position in Israel has resulted in significant headaches for the 'Squad' member, her constituents are more worried about rising crime in St. Louis and access to abortion. "[The war in Gaza is] not a priority for my district, necessarily," Bush admitted.

Recent polling has shown Bell has pulled ahead of Bush in the primary race, with the former pulling ahead with 48 percent support compared to the former BLM activist's 42 percent support. Bush's race will be heavily watched, and she could be the next progressive Democrat to be primaried due to her anti-Israel positions.

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