Tipsheet

Jamaal Bowman Might Not Be the Only Squad Member to Lose Their Primary

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  June 26, 2024 2:30 PM

After urging voters at a rally miles outside of his district to "show them who the f**k we are," Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) couldn't pull enough fire alarms to prevent a decisive defeat in the 16th Congressional District's Democrat primary on Tuesday. His loss is a blow to the "progressive" squad of far-left lawmakers in the House to which he belonged. 

He is the first squad member to be toppled by a primary challenger, but Bowman might not be the only one of the comrades to lose a primary this cycle. 

Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) is also facing an intraparty competitor, one who is giving Bush a serious run for her money in a tightening race. 

As Politico reported Wednesday morning, the First Congressional District primary has Bush facing "a dire threat from a fellow Democrat" as evidenced in a new poll showing "St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell is in a statistical dead heat ahead of the Aug. 6 primary" in which he seeks to defeat the incumbent. The poll's result: Bush 42, Bell 43. 

"The worrying news for Bush," Politico's report explained, "isn't just that the race is tight; it's that Bell has gained considerably since a January poll found him 16 points behind." That's quite a bit of momentum but it remains to be seen if Bell can continue adding points to his column in the weeks before the primary.  

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More on the situation from Politico:

The poll of 400 voters was conducted last week on behalf of Democratic Majority for Israel by pollster MARK MELLMAN. Both have been critical of Squad members for their views of Israel, so the usual caveats about internal polling apply. But we’ll note that Mellman’s April poll of the Bowman-Latimer race for DMFI nailed Latimer’s victory margin.

We’ll be watching to see whether Latimer’s victory and a tightening race in St. Louis compels DMFI and United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated group that spent nearly $15 million to defeat Bowman, to spend big here, too.

Notably, in addition to sharing most of the same radical policy views as Bowman, Bush has been running a similar playbook in her primary race. Earlier this month, for example, Bush posted a screed against AIPAC and other donors supporting her opponent while suggesting outside groups were trying to buy her district. This strategy clearly didn't work for Bowman, but Bush is desperate for anything to buoy her numbers and hold on to power.

Could the electoral tide finally be turning against some far-left Squad members among Democrat voters? One can hope given their performative, often-hypocritical outrage, vapid virtue signaling, and hateful rhetoric.