It’s fair to say that the loss of Rep. Jamaal BOWMAN (D-NY), in the Tuesday primary, continues to reverberate throughout the Democratic circles. The blame is being placed on everyone and everything except the candidate who was, in the end, his own worst enemy.
Bowman is the first radical Democratic Socialist Party member from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), so-called “Squad”, to be voted off the ballot. Previous attempts to elect other members during past elections failed, such as the primary for Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), back in April.
Cori Bush is the next Squad comrade who will face a formidable opponent. She is a Black Lives Matter alumnus and Rashida Tlaib’s mini-me. Her staunchest critics claim that she may be even more embarrassing than AOC as a member of Congress.
Missouri’s primary will be held on the 6th of August. Bush will be facing three opponents, including former state legislator Maria Chappelle Nadal, who called for the assassination of then-President Donald Trump, and substitute teacher Ron Harshaw.
Bell decided to run against Bush instead of Hawley in the primaries in October 2023, partly because she was concerned about her position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Bell is the only one of the three who has been able to garner the most positive press coverage and is the one that everyone will be watching in the race.
Bell, as we noted in January, is “fairly liberal,” but Bell, between Bush and the other candidates, would be the better choice for Missourians in the solidly blue district, given the current political climate.
Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecutor, is competent and sane. He doesn’t go around with antisemites, which is something that one would expect a candidate seeking votes to avoid, especially in a district where the largest Jewish population in the state is located.
Bell has a clear fundraising advantage over Bush. A new poll also shows that he is just ahead of Bush after being 16 points behind her in January’s poll.
The survey was conducted by The Mellman Group for Democratic Majority for Israel. It showed Bell, St. Louis County’s prosecuting attorney, to be ahead of Bush by one point, 43 percent to 42, a difference that is well within the margin for error. Bell has made a significant improvement since a firm poll in January showed Bush ahead by 16 points.
In the survey conducted this month, 11 percent of respondents said that they were undecided and 4 percent supported another candidate.
The pollsters did find some indications that Bell may be able to benefit as the Show Me State primary on August 6 approaches. Bell was ahead of Bush by 10 percentage points among the most consistent voters, those who had voted in the three most recent primaries.
Pro-Israel groups, such as AIPAC’s United Democracy Project, are also investing in Cori Bush during this election cycle and have already made ad reservations.
This matchup could last well into the evening, and the winner may not be announced for days. But given the makeup of Bush’s district and dynamics at work, it is safe to say, that, unlike the last time, she has finally met her match.
