ST. LOUIS — A prosecutor, Wesley Bell, has defeated Congresswoman Cori Bush in a Democratic primary at St. Louis, marking the second time this year that one of the party’s incumbents has been ousted in an expensive contest that reflected divisions in her party over the war in Gaza.

Ms. Bush, a member of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” was seeking a third term in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes St. Louis city and part of St. Louis County.

Mr. Bell is heavily favored to carry this overwhelmingly Democratic district in November, when his party is aiming to retake control of the House.

Mr. Bell’s campaign received a big boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to oust Bush. She repeatedly criticized Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attack.

It was a gameplan that worked earlier this year in New York. In June, United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat another Squad member — Congressman Jamaal Bowman. He lost to a pro-Israel centrist, George Latimer.

A statement from United Democracy Project said the wins by Messrs. Bell and Latimer, along with John McGuire’s defeat of Congressman Bob Good in a Republican primary last week in Virginia, “is further proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle.”

The group added that it “will continue our efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party.”

In October, Ms. Bush called the Israeli retaliation an “ethnic cleansing campaign.” Soon after the Hamas attack, Ms. Bush wrote on social media that Israel’s “collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamas’s actions is a war crime.”

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

In the days leading up to the primary, Ms. Bush also raised eyebrows with her refusal to condemn Hamas because she did not know enough about the terrorist organization.

“Would they qualify to me as a terrorist organization? Yes. But do I know that? Absolutely not,” Ms. Bush said.

“I have no communication with them. 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,” the Congresswoman added. “I’m not trying to compare us, but that taught me to be careful about labeling if I don’t know.”

Ms. Bush has responded to critics by saying that the donors behind Aipac support former President Trump and other Republicans.

“This is only the beginning,” Ms. Bush told the AP. “Because if they can unseat me, then they’re going to continue to come after more Democrats.”

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

Ms. Bush, 48, became a protest leader. She was outspoken and critical of how police in Ferguson and other parts of the St. Louis region treated Black people.

Her activism prompted an unsuccessful run against longtime incumbent 1st District Democrat William Lacy Clay in 2018, before she defeated him in 2020. She easily won reelection in 2022.

Associated Press