Just one month following the primary defeat of the “Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who was ousted by a progressive pro-Israel rival, another Democrat associated with the far-left group is poised to face a similarly overwhelming defeat, as a local paper endorsed her opponent and advised her to consider resigning.
A survey conducted on July 14th revealed that Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) has suffered a significant drop of 23 points in the race against her progressive opponent Wesley Bell. Following this, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an op-ed advocating for the end of her time in office and support for Bell, highlighting his commitment to addressing issues head-on, such as improving services for constituents and enacting legislation.
Previous analyses have found that Rep. Bush ranks among the least effective members of Congress. The commentary pointed out the Squad’s strong emphasis on garnering media attention over the actual enactment of laws, as reported by The Hill.
“Missouri’s First Congressional District, encompassing St. Louis city and northern St. Louis County, is our region’s most direct connection to the federal government’s seat of power,” the editorial board said in a piece published Thursday. “For the past four years, the district has been in the hands of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat who has generally appeared less interested in working that system for the good of her constituents than attacking it on behalf of a small, hard-left klatch of lawmakers — ‘the Squad’ — who are good at getting headlines but bad at actually accomplishing anything,” the op-ed continued.
Rep. Bush’s drop in the polls is quite surprising, especially considering that the previous survey in June only had her trailing the former prosecutor by 1%. Although Bell has similar views on the Israel-Hamas war as she does and continues to oppose carte blanche Israeli actions, the Post-Dispatch board believes he is the best “viable alternative” to the congresswoman who hasn’t achieved much in her two terms in office.
“Democratic primary voters in the overwhelmingly Democratic district weren’t offered a viable alternative to Bush two years ago,” the Post-Dispatch editorial board said in their Thursday piece. “This year, they have a terrific one. We enthusiastically endorse Wesley Bell for the Democratic nomination to this seat in the Aug. 6 primaries.”
The op-ed said “Bush’s almost immediate induction into the small clique of progressive House rabble-rousers positioned her as a darling of fringe-left activists — and thus irrelevant to what actually happens in Washington. Bush voted against the Biden administration’s landmark infrastructure package — one of only six House Democrats to do so — to protest the fact that a separate social-spending package was stalled. That myopic stance helps explain why labor interests that previously backed Bush have moved to Bell.”