Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Cori Bush\u2019s 2024 primary loss to Wesley Bell was heralded as a major defeat for the insurgent progressive movement.<\/p>\n
Now, their rematch for Missouri\u2019s 1st District two years later comes at a time when Bush and her allies seem to be winning the battle for the future of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
The dueling factions in St. Louis<\/a> highlight the growing tension over not just the domestic ideological divide in the Democratic Party, but the party\u2019s \u2014 and country\u2019s \u2014 stance on the U.S.’s longrunning relationship with Israel.<\/p>\n The former representative was among the first sitting members of Congress to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” \u2014 and now she’s betting that her progressive bonafides and her criticism of the top U.S. ally will boost her to victory with the same electorate that punished her last cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of us is of the people, by the people and for the people,\u201d Bush said in a recent interview. \u201cThe other one is paid for by AIPAC. That’s the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Like two years ago, a group aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is the largest outside spender in the race. The organization\u2019s super PAC, United Democracy Project, has spent at least $2.1 million on advertising in the primary, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.<\/p>\n Roughly half of all adults who identify as Democrats believe that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, according to a July AP-NORC poll<\/a>, an accusation that some human rights organizations have made but both the Israeli and American governments strongly deny. <\/p>\n And from Colorado to New York, several progressives have already tapped into voters’ frustrations with party leadership and successfully wielded their criticism of Israel’s government in order to win.<\/p>\n St. Louis is only one of several races on Tuesday testing the Democratic Party\u2019s establishment: voters will also hit the polls in Michigan<\/a> to cast their ballots for the progressive, Abdul El-Sayed, or the moderate Rep. Haley Stevens for an open Senate seat. <\/p>\n That race has also become a check for voters\u2019 opposition to AIPAC. And some potential 2028 Democratic contenders have already sworn off accepting funding<\/a> from AIPAC, another sign of the growing unwillingness to be aligned with the organization. <\/p>\n AIPAC and some Democrats have hit back, saying its critics within the Democratic Party have increasingly made the party inhospitable to those generally supportive of Israel.<\/p>\n In response to requests for comment, AIPAC shared a series of ads knocking Bush for her missed votes<\/a> and her criticism of the Biden administration<\/a> and former Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s 2024 presidential bid. (In a recent debate, Bush claimed Bell delayed his endorsement of Harris, but both endorsed the former vice president on July 21, 2024<\/a>, the same day she announced her candidacy.)<\/p>\n Bell unseated Bush two years ago with heavy financial backing from AIPAC, the country\u2019s preeminent pro-Israel lobby. They\u2019ve once again spent heavily on his behalf, and this time, he also comes into the race with establishment support \u2014 including endorsements from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Congressional Black Caucus PAC.<\/p>\n Bell and his allies have absolutely swamped Bush on the airwaves this year. In addition to UDP\u2019s $2.1 million in ad spending, Bell\u2019s campaign has followed closely behind at over $2 million, according to AdImpact, with over $700,000 more from another super PAC called New Democrat Majority.<\/p>\n Bush, meanwhile, has spent less than $200,000, according to the ad tracker. She boasts the backing of a progressive coalition that includes the Democratic Socialists of America, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and fellow “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).<\/p>\n Bell has brushed aside the attacks that he\u2019s being bolstered by AIPAC money.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all can agree that there’s too much money in politics, and I’m a vocal and public supporter of campaign finance reform,\u201d Bell said in an interview. \u201cWhat I’m not a fan of or a supporter of is singling out certain Americans and saying that they should not participate in our democratic process. That is where I would absolutely draw the line.\u201d<\/p>\n Bell added that the difference between himself and Bush is that he can offer both support and criticism of allies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I\u2019m not the biggest fan of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], I still believe that we have to stand with our allies,\u201d Bell said. \u201cThat doesn’t mean we’re not going to disagree at times with our allies.\u201d<\/p>\n Bell\u2019s and Bush\u2019s showdown in 2024 was arguably the biggest ideological battlefield for the party that year, outside of the discontent surrounding Biden and then Harris\u2019 presidential bids from progressives critical of Israel.<\/p>\n But two years later, it is just one of many fights that has sprawled across the country. Progressive candidates have been racking up primary victories against establishment figures in a trend that some are calling the \u201cMamdani effect\u201d after democratic socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani took down Andrew Cuomo in both the 2025 primary and general elections.<\/p>\n Still, this year\u2019s St. Louis rematch isn\u2019t quite the marquee fight it was in 2024. Spending has trended down: Collectively nearly $20 million was dropped on the 2024 contest on advertising, according to AdImpact. That\u2019s roughly four times more than this year\u2019s total.<\/p>\n Usamah Andrabi, spokesperson for Justice Democrats, the progressive group that endorsed Bush earlier this cycle, attributed the broader, nationwide ideological fight to a base that has been \u201cpushed to the edge of desperation by the Democratic Party itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Democratic Party\u2019s base woke up in January 2025 realizing that their party’s establishment was unfit, unprepared and frankly unwilling to fight back against Donald Trump and Republican extremists with the urgency the moment demanded,\u201d Andrabi said.<\/p>\n Now, as St. Louis voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Bush cast the eventual outcome in dire terms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is at stake,\u201d Bush said, \u201cis the affordability and the peace of every single person in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n