RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Rep. Wesley Bell on Tuesday beat former congresswoman Cori Bush in a heated Democratic primary in Missouri\u0027s 1st Congressional District, CBS News projects.\u00a0The race was the latest display of intraparty rifts between establishment Democrats and democratic socialists over the future of the party and the U.S. alliance with Israel. Given the district\u0027s heavily Democratic leaning, Bell is favored to win in November.Bell, a moderate Democrat who is supportive of the U.S. relationship with Israel, has represented the solid-blue district, which includes St. Louis, since 2025 after unseating the two-term Bush, who rose to prominence as a Black Lives Matter activist and blamed her 2024 defeat on the pro-Israel lobby, which spent millions against her.\u00a0The two clashed in a fiery debate on July 24 over their support for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, U.S. military aid for Israel and campaign spending.\u00a0On Israel, Bell voted earlier this month against eliminating $3.3 billion in assistance to Israel in a vote that split House Democrats. Bell was in the minority, with more Democrats voting in favor of ending aid.\u00a0"I am no fan of Bibi Netanyahu, but we\u0027re still going to stand with our allies," Bell said.\u00a0Bush said she supports cutting off military aid "while human rights violations are happening."\u00a0"Now funding for other things that they may need, I have no problem with that," she added.\u00a0While Bush said she believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, Bell did not directly answer the question.\u00a0Bell accused Bush of calling Harris a fascist in comments she made two years ago in an interview with Al Jazeera, in which she said: "What I\u0027m hearing is people say: \u0027Well, we\u0027re talking about fighting fascism. We don\u0027t need the fascism that comes along with a Donald Trump presidency.\u0027 But I feel like I\u0027m seeing fascism right now, with a Joe Biden presidency and a Vice President Harris presidency.""You called her a fascist at a time when this election came down to a few thousand votes in five or six states, and everyone understood the assignment except you," Bell said.\u00a0Bush responded, "Did I call them fascists? No. There was a rise in fascism, starting with the Trump administration. And then how we were able to send so much money to go and bomb people in another country, and it was so much of that was funded by a lot of the people that fund Congressman Wesley Bell through these PACs."Bush accused Bell of "revisionist history" while Bell argued Bush was twisting "herself into a pretzel to try to explain some things."\u00a0The bitterness between the two escalated as Bell alleged Bush has a penchant for "exploiting tragedies," referring to federal charges her husband faced related to pandemic-era relief.\u00a0"That is actual defamation," Bush interjected. "I will not allow you to say something that is actually untrue."\u00a0Bell also emphasized how Bush paid herself a salary and her husband, who provided her security, with campaign donations, which is legal under certain rules.\u00a0"What Cori has done is she\u0027s raised money and then routed it into her own bank account for our own use," he said.\u00a0"I don\u0027t talk about your personal stuff, even though I know it. I\u0027m going to keep my holiness and not talk about your personal stuff," Bush responded. "Just because you say something, like Donald Trump, it doesn\u0027t mean it\u0027s true."\u00a0
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