Is the Squad about to shrink again? Back in June, Jamaal Bowman, a New York lawmaker and member of the Democrats’ progressive group, was given the boot by voters in a campaign focused on his hostility toward Israel in the wake of October 7. Today in Missouri, Cori Bush—the Black Lives Matter activist turned congresswoman—could face the same fate as she goes up against Wesley Bell, a moderate prosecutor who has emphasized Bush’s anti-Israel rhetoric and has the backing of pro-Israel groups.
Though the biggest issues on Missouri voters’ minds are the economy, abortion, and immigration, Bush has essentially staked her chances of winning this election on her views about the Middle East. Just a few days ago, while campaigning at a public library in Ferguson, Missouri, Bush refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization. The New York Times later reported that “she was reluctant to classify Hamas as a terrorist group given how little she knows about it.”
“I have no communication with them,” Bush told the Times. “All I know is that we were considered terrorists, we were considered Black identity extremists and all we were doing was trying to get peace. I’m not trying to compare us, but that taught me to be careful about labeling if I don’t know.”
If the polls are right, it looks like Bush’s constituents aren’t willing to stick by her, which could make her the second Squad member to be ousted by voters over the Israel-Hamas war this election cycle.
Francesca Block is a reporter for The Free Press. Follow her on X @FrancescaABlock and read her piece “Hospital Reviews Gender Care After Therapist Blows the Whistle.”
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