Missouri Rep. Cori Bush is ousted by a primary challenger backed by pro-Israel groups

ST. LOUIS — Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush has lost the Democratic primary for the state’s 1st Congressional District seat, according to a race call from The Associated Press.

Bush was ousted by St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who was backed by pro-Israel groups.

She now becomes the second member of progressive House Democrats known as “the Squad” defeated in a primary that was linked to the incumbent’s views of Israel. In June, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost to his own well-funded challenger.

Bush, a St. Louis-based congresswoman, became a national figure after knocking off longtime incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay in 2020. Before being elected, she participated in the protest movement in Ferguson that arose after a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager.

In 2021, she slept on the Capitol steps to protest an expiring eviction moratorium. She is also an abortion rights supporter and worked to repeal a federal law that Democrats fear could be used to ban medication used to terminate pregnancies.

This year, her long-standing criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinians helped fuel Bell’s campaign. Bush angered some Jewish leaders after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack for her criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, including saying in a tweet that she couldn’t “be silent about Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign.” Israeli officials say the high civilian death toll in Gaza is the consequence of Hamas hiding among noncombatants while waging war.

As she tried to prevail in one of the most expensive House primaries of the year, Bush was unapologetic about her speaking in support of Palestinians and criticizing the Israeli government. She said she found commonalities between Black Americans