Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), an advocacy group that pushes for pro-Israel policies, has set its sights on another member of "The Squad' to try to oust during primary season.
DMFI President Mark Mellman told Politico that the group will be looking at how to supplant Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., in November. DMFI is already working on unseating Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Cori Bush, D-Mo. Those two, Mellman says, are vulnerable in their districts.
"The person in the middle is Summer Lee in Pennsylvania. I think it's hard to know exactly how vulnerable she is at the moment. And we'll be looking at that," Mellman said on Politico's "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast.
Lee is challenged by Bhavini Patel in Pennsylvania's April 23 primary.
Members of the "The Squad," whom Republicans call part of the radical wing of the Democratic Party, have been critical of Israel for Oct. 7 even as Hamas terrorists were still inside its borders kidnapping and murdering an estimated 1,200 Israelis and foreign citizens.
Because "The Squad" pols are in Democrat-safe precincts, seemingly the only way to unseat them is to support opponents they have in a primary.
Rep. Rashid Tlaib, D-Mich., who was censured by the House for her "river to the sea" rhetoric months ago, doesn't have an opponent this year.
"Not going to beat somebody with nobody," Mellman said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is "in a stronger place than she was before," Mellman said. He added that "Squad" ringleader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is "in a relatively strong place," though she does have an opponent in Marty Dolan.
But Bowman and Bush are prime targets.
"Those are the two that are the most vulnerable — not just because of this issue, but because they also have other problems, additionally, and because both of them have opponents who are serious elected officials in their own right with substantial constituencies," Mellman said.
Bush was trailing her opponent by 22 points in a February poll. And she's under investigation by the Justice Department for alleged misuse of federal security money.
Bowman's opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, is a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for pulling a fire alarm in the House in September in an alleged attempt to pause a vote during a shutdown debate.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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