War in the Middle East upends the dynamics of 2024 House Democratic primaries
FILE - Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., talks during a news conference to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on Capitol Hill, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Washington.
FILE - Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., listens to fellow speakers before President Joe Biden speaks on the debt limit during an event at SUNY Westchester Community College, May 10, 2023, in Valhalla, N.Y.
FILE - Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., arrives for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's Inauguration Jan. 17, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
FILE - Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks during a rally at the National Mall during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington, Oct. 20, 2023.
FILE - Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., speaks at the Labor Day parade in Detroit, Sept. 4, 2023.
FILE - Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference by the Congressional Progressive Caucus May 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
ST. LOUIS (AP) 鈥� Most members of Congress have stood firmly behind Israel since the Hamas attack last month, but not Cori Bush. The Missouri Democrat called Israel蘑菇视频 response a 鈥渨ar crime鈥� and an 鈥渆thnic cleansing campaign,鈥� and was among the few House members who opposed a resolution supporting Israel.
Her unwavering stance has angered some in her district. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on Monday dropped a U.S. Senate bid to challenge Bush in next year蘑菇视频 1st District Democratic primary, and moderate Democrats believe he could win.
Bush isn鈥檛 alone. She蘑菇视频 among a small group of Democrats viewed by critics as insufficiently supportive of Israel 鈥� both long before and now after Hamas鈥� Oct. 7 attack on Israel 鈥� or insufficiently critical of Hamas. Across those districts, moderates like Bell are being encouraged to run. In particular, Summer Lee in Pennsylvania, Jamaal Bowman in New York, Ilhan Omar in Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib in Michigan probably will face challengers.
All five have condemned Hamas鈥� attack and antisemitism, but they鈥檝e all made statements seen as inflammatory by Israel蘑菇视频 staunchest supporters and been critical of U.S. military aid to Israel.
Bush and Omar accused Israel of 鈥渆thnic cleansing.鈥� Summer Lee said it had committed 鈥渉uman rights violations.鈥� And at a recent cease-fire rally, Bowman said: 鈥淲e cannot allow the lives of anyone to be erased. This erasure of Palestinian lives and experience has been happening for decades.鈥�
Adding to the fraught politics for Democrats is the fact that others could face pressure for the opposite reason 鈥� such as Shri Thanedar in Detroit, who represents a heavily Democratic district with a big Muslim population but has backed Israel.
Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution supporting Israel. Bush, Bowman, Lee, Omar and Tlaib were among nine Democrats who opposed the measure, saying it failed to call for a cease-fire, create a pathway to peace or express the need to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Bowman, Lee, Omar and Tlaib also were among the 17 sponsors of Bush蘑菇视频 resolution asking the Biden administration to call for a cease-fire. Critics of that resolution said it failed to mention Hamas鈥� unprovoked attack on Israel, hostages held by Hamas or that the U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
All five are considered progressives in the Democratic caucus and represent strongly Democratic districts, so the main threat to their re-election prospects would probably come from the Democratic Party.
Challenges to Bush and the others were possible even before the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 or Israel蘑菇视频 subsequent attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their stances after Oct. 7 have fueled calls for primary challengers.
Lee and Omar 鈥� who narrowly held off primary competitors in 2022 鈥� may be particularly vulnerable.
The progressive group Justice Democrats, which has backed primary challengers against moderate Democrats around the country, blamed the primary challenges on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and a network of Republican donors who help fund AIPAC蘑菇视频 efforts to elect unequivocal allies of Israel.
鈥淒emocratic members are truly out of step with their voters and their bases who do not want to see us barreling toward another war on their taxpayer dollars,鈥� Justice Democrats鈥� spokesperson Usamah Andrabi said.
It is unfortunate, Andrabi said, that the House Democratic leadership has not taken a stronger stance against AIPAC蘑菇视频 efforts to knock off rank-and-file Democrats.
It remains unclear whether House Democrats will help incumbents fend off primary challengers through campaign fundraising arms. One organization, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said it could potentially get involved in a primary race to protect an incumbent, but declined to discuss specifics.
Before Oct. 7, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., issued statements of support for Omar and others, saying he will support the reelection of every House Democratic incumbent, regardless of ideology.
AIPAC declined to discuss its campaign efforts, saying 鈥渢here will be a time for political action, but right now our priority is building and sustaining congressional support for Israel蘑菇视频 fight to permanently dismantle Hamas, which perpetrated this barbaric, terrorist attack on the Jewish state.鈥�
Tlaib, the lone Palestinian American in Congress, has been an outspoken opponent of the Biden administration蘑菇视频 response to the conflict. On Friday, she posted a video on social media showing anti-war protests across the United States and accusing President Joe Biden of supporting what she said was genocide against the Palestinian people. 鈥淲e will remember in 2024,鈥� she said. The White House declined comment Saturday on the video.
While Tlaib defeated her primary opponent handily last year, pro-Israel groups have already signaled that they will focus on defeating her in 2024. The Democratic Majority for Israel 鈥� which bills itself as the 鈥渧oice of pro-Israel Democrats鈥� 鈥� began running ads against Tlaib in Detroit this week.
罢濒补颈产蘑菇视频 metro Detroit House district includes a large Arab American population in Dearborn and a substantial Jewish constituency in Southfield.
Her congressional neighbor, however, is in a different situation: Tlaib and Thanedar have feuded publicly since he criticized her statements on Hamas鈥� attack on Israel, and Thanedar 鈥� a freshman who represents Detroit 鈥� has since drawn criticism from Tlaib on how he runs his office.
Thanedar蘑菇视频 Detroit district has been a center of pro-Palestinian pushback in the state, with thousands of demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in the city蘑菇视频 downtown on Oct. 28.
He has a primary challenger in former state Sen. Adam Hollier 鈥� Thanedar beat Hollier by 5 percentage points in a nine-way primary in 2022 鈥� but Hollier蘑菇视频 campaign said his run isn鈥檛 a response to Thanedar蘑菇视频 stance on Israel.
In Pittsburgh, Lee has faced broad criticism from the Jewish community, where members just marked the five-year anniversary of a gunman蘑菇视频 rampage through the Tree of Life synagogue, killing 11 people in the worst attack on Jews on American soil.
On Tuesday, a group of 36 rabbis and four cantors released a letter criticizing Lee for voting against the House resolution expressing support for Israel and for supporting Bush蘑菇视频 cease-fire resolution.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a rare day in any Jewish community when you have Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad and Reconstructionists together on one page,鈥� said Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Pittsburgh蘑菇视频 Temple Sinai, who helped organize the effort. 鈥淏ut the reality is that Rep. Lee isn鈥檛 representing her constituents.鈥�
Lee already has one declared opponent, and more may be coming.
Bhavini Patel, 29, said she would have run regardless of Lee蘑菇视频 stance on Israel. But, she said, Lee蘑菇视频 standing in the Jewish community shows how Lee doesn鈥檛 try to understand the people she represents.
In Minneapolis, a former school board member, Don Samuels, is considering a second campaign against Omar after he came within 2 percentage points of unseating her in 2022蘑菇视频 primary election.
That close race turned mostly on the future of policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered. It remains to be seen how Omar蘑菇视频 stance on Israel will play out in her district, which has a large Somali American Muslim population.
Omar has long been dogged by accusations that she is anti-Israel and antisemitic 鈥� accusations that have intensified since the Hamas attack. Since then she has criticized both Hamas for its decision to attack Israel and the Israeli government蘑菇视频 response. Her main focus has been the impact on civilians in the Gaza Strip. She has called for a cease-fire and for Hamas to release hostages.
In New York, current Westchester County Executive George Latimer is considering challenging Bowman.
Latimer said people had encouraged him to challenge Bowman long before Oct. 7, including overtures that had nothing to do with Israel. After Hamas鈥� attack, however, some in the Jewish community have intensified their efforts.
A group of more than two dozen rabbis last month publicized a letter they wrote asking Latimer to challenge Bowman, citing the congressman蘑菇视频 posture on Israel.
Latimer said he would decide in the coming months.
In Missouri, Bush 鈥� who has called Israel an 鈥渁partheid鈥� state 鈥� said she is pushing a 鈥減ro-peace agenda.鈥�
Writing on social media, she said, 鈥淚srael蘑菇视频 collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamas蘑菇视频 actions is a war crime. I strongly condemn Hamas & their appalling violations of human rights, but violations of human rights don鈥檛 justify more human rights violations in retaliation.鈥�
Her challenger, Bell, said those types of comments 鈥渟end the wrong message and we need to be sending to rogue nations and dictators and terrorist groups the message that that they cannot have missiles trained on Israel like we see with Hamas, like we see with Iran.鈥�
The Rev. Darryl Gray, who like Bush is a leading civil rights activist in St. Louis, said he saw Bush as an advocate for peace. He said she believes that Israeli leaders are 鈥渘ot looking for de-escalation, not looking for cease-fire, but looking for revenge.鈥�
Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, and Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.