Representative Cori Bush, a member of the team, loses the primary

The prosecutor’s office in the county of St. Louis. Wesley Bell defeated Rep. Cori Bush in a Democratic primary in St. Louis, marking the second time this year that a party incumbent has been ousted in a costly contest that reflected deep divisions over the Gaza war.

Bush, a member of the progressive congressional group known as “The Team,” was seeking a third term in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the city of St. Louis and part of St. Louis. Bell is heavily favored to carry this Democratic-majority district in November, when his party seeks to take control of the U.S. House.

“I am committed to serving the region of St. Louis in Congress with integrity, transparency and dedication,” Bell said in a statement. “Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has a chance to thrive.”

Bush, in a fiery concession speech, said he still has work to do, even if he will no longer be in Congress.

“At the end of the day, whether I’m a congresswoman or not, I still take care of my people,” Bush said.

Bell’s campaign got a big boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, whose super PAC, the United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to unseat Bush. She was targeted after her repeated condemnation of Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attack and her heated criticism of Hamas.

It was a game plan that worked earlier this year in New York. In June, the United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat another staunchly pro-Palestinian progressive Democrat, Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.

A statement from the United Democracy Project said Bell and Latimer’s victories, along with John McGuire’s defeat of Rep. Bob Good in a Republican primary last week in Virginia, “is further evidence that being pro-Israel is a good politics and good politics for both. the sides of the aisle. The UDP will continue our efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the US-Israel alliance while countering detractors from either political party.”

Bush, in his concession speech, said it would not change.

“We will continue to support a free Palestine,” Bush said. A member of the crowd responded: “Free Palestine, free.”

In October, Bush called Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip a “campaign of ethnic cleansing.” Shortly after the Hamas attack, Bush wrote on social media that Israel’s “collective punishment of Palestinians for the actions of Hamas is a war crime.”

Her comments sparked backlash, even among some supporters in her district. Bell, who had planned a Senate race against Republican incumbent Josh Hawley, opted instead to challenge Bush. He told The Associated Press last month that Bush’s comments about Israel were “wrong and offensive.”

Bush responded by saying the donors behind AIPAC support former President Trump and other Republicans.

“This is just the beginning,” Bush told the AP. “Because if they can disappoint me, then they’re going to keep coming after more Democrats.”

Both Bush and Bell honed their leadership skills in Ferguson, Mo., in the unrest that followed the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in 2014. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of Brown’s death.

Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was walking with a friend on August 9, 2014, when a white officer, Darren Wilson, confronted them. Wilson said he fired in self-defense because Brown was so angry. Some witnesses said Brown, who was unarmed, had his hands up in surrender. Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned, and Brown’s death led to months of protests.

Bush, 48, has become a leader of the protest. She has been outspoken in her criticism of how police in Ferguson and other parts of the St. Louis treated black people. Her activism caused an unsuccessful run against longtime 1st District Democrat William Lacy Clay in 2018 before defeating him in 2020. She easily won re-election in 2022.

Bell, 49, began hosting conversations about community policing after Brown’s death. The attorney, who previously served as city attorney and judge, successfully ran for a seat on the Ferguson City Council before defeating District Attorney St. Louis County Prosecuting. Bob McCulloch in the August 2018 Democratic primary.

As prosecutor, Bell reopened an inquest into Brown’s death. He announced in July 2020 that while the investigation did not exonerate Wilson, there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

“My heart breaks” for Brown’s parents, Bell said at the time. “I know this is not the outcome they were looking for and their pain will continue forever.”

Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., was featured in an ad for Bush.

“He used my family for power,” Brown says of Bell in the ad. “And now they’re trying to sell St. Louis.”

Bush’s campaign focused on what she had accomplished for St. Louis. She said her efforts brought $2 billion to the 1st District and that her protest on the steps of the Capitol in 2021 helped extend the federal moratorium on evacuations during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping thousands of St. Louis. the tenants.

Bell touted his own progressive credentials. He noted that as a prosecutor, he said he would not prosecute any abortion case in a state that bans the procedure in most cases. He created diversion programs to steer people with mental health and substance abuse problems into treatment instead of prison. And his office has expanded its efforts to examine potential cases of wrongful convictions.

In Missouri’s 3rd District, which stretches from the western edge of the St. Louis through central Missouri, the Trump-backed candidate won. Bob Onder, a physician and also a former state senator, defeated former state senator Kurt Schaefer.

Trump wrote on his social media platform last month that Onder was “an incredible America First Patriot.” The former president wrote that Schaefer “is WEAK IN THE STOMACH,” adding, “That’s all you need to know!”

District 3 is heavily Republican, and Onder will be favored against Democrat Bethany Mann, a political newcomer, in November.

Salter writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report.