Former far-Left Squad member Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) failed to reclaim Missouri’s deep-blue 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, losing a rematch against the Democrat who unseated her two years ago. With about 26% of the vote counted, Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) held a commanding lead over Bush in their hotly contested rematch of the explosive 2024 Democratic primary, winning 70.7% of the vote to Bush’s 25.8%. The Associated Press called the race at 9:02 pm ET. Since the St. Louis-area district is overwhelmingly Democratic, Bell is heavily favored to win this fall and return to Congress. The race flew under the headlines but served as another test of whether the Democratic Party’s leftist shift — fueled by victories from socialist-aligned candidates in New York, Washington D.C., and Denver — could propel one of the movement’s most recognizable national figures back to Capitol Hill. Bush’s defeat suggests that with the help of the party’s establishment, some popular incumbents can still fend off challenges from Left-wing insurgents. In her bid to return to Congress, Bush tried to exploit the same issue that cost her a House seat: her anti-Israel views. In 2024, Bell defeated Bush in what became one of the most expensive House primaries in American history after pro-Israel groups, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured $9.3 million into the race. Following the Hamas-led October 7 terror attacks, Bush emerged as one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of Israel and was one of the first to introduce resolutions calling for a ceasefire. Bell, on the other hand, has continued backing military assistance for Israel while arguing the United States must support allies confronting hostile regimes. “I think we have to support our allies not only in Israel, but in Taiwan and in Ukraine,” Bell said during a recent joint appearance with Bush. “They are on the front lines of our sworn enemies.” Over the past year, several socialist-aligned candidates promising to upend the Democratic Party’s leadership have won competitive primaries. Bell’s victory, however, marks a rare triumph for the party establishment, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) all backing his re-election bid. The rejection of Bush comes months after she posted a picture with Christopher Winston, a self-described Maoist streamer who goes by the name “BlackRedGuard.” Winston has a history of violent rhetoric and has argued the United States needs to be overthrown through revolution, The Daily Wire previously reported. The photo, flagged by Manhattan Institute investigative reporter Stu Smith, showed Bush meeting with members of the St. Louis Democratic Socialists of America on July 8. Winston can be seen standing next to Bush wearing a shirt reading “armed minorities.” Sharing the photo, Winston wrote, “comrades.” “I’m so proud to have DSA by my side, united in our fight against price gouging, big real estate, and billionaires influencing our politics,” Bush said.

Authorities arrested an armed man outside President Donald Trump’s Southern California golf course ahead of the president’s scheduled visit Tuesday, officials announced.  Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested Sunday outside Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes after FBI agents allegedly found him carrying an illegally modified AR-style rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, and ammunition.  According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Taele was also seen taking photographs and videos near the property. After executing a search warrant at his home in Downey on Monday, investigators said they discovered a notebook containing what they described as “concerning statements.” The Secret Service is reportedly investigating whether Taele posed a threat to the president.   White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said Trump traveled to California Tuesday to highlight what the administration views as the contrast between Republican and Democrat leadership. Trump is expected to attend a Republican National Committee dinner at the club Tuesday evening. “The President will draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom, who keep raising taxes, inviting rampant fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, and protecting illegal immigrant drug dealers, rapists, and murderers,” Wales said. The sheriff’s department emphasized that there is “no credible threat to our communities.”   

As 84-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) enters the twilight of his political career, Democrats on the Left are searching for a successor to lead the movement he built. Some now believe that person could be an unlikely candidate who has never held elected office. Politico reported Tuesday that a behind-the-scenes battle is underway over who will inherit Sanders’ political mantle after the Vermont socialist transformed the Democratic Party with his insurgent 2016 presidential campaign and helped propel a new generation of leftist candidates into office. While names such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) have been viewed as possible heirs, some Democratic insiders question whether either has the broad appeal to unite the movement.  “It’s not certain AOC will even run for president, and right now, just Ro is really out there trying to fill that lane. That leaves a pretty thin field to pull from,” one Democratic operative told Politico. Instead, some on the Left are looking outside elected office and increasingly discussing United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain. The 57-year-old Indiana native could appeal to voters seeking change and a Democratic Party desperate to stop the bleeding with the working class. He rose to national prominence after leading the UAW’s 2023 “stand-up strike” against the Big Three automakers, winning sizable raises while becoming one of organized labor’s most recognizable voices. Fain has also become known for his attacks on the “billionaire class,” often delivering speeches in an “EAT THE RICH” T-shirt, according to Politico.   Unlike many of the Democratic Party’s rising stars, Fain has never held elected office, a background that some leftists reportedly view as an asset rather than a liability. In the 2024 election, Democrats continued to win a majority of union households, but President Donald Trump made gains with organized labor. According to AP VoteCast, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won just over half of union household voters, while Trump captured 44% — a two-point increase from his 2020 showing. Four years earlier, Biden carried 56% of union households.  “If he’s willing to run, [he] might be the best candidate for the left,” Bhaskar Sunkara, a 2020 Sanders surrogate and former vice chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, told Politico’s Playbook. “Since he’s progressive but very much says his egalitarian value system comes from his Christianity, [he] can speak in a moral language that can reach more independents than other candidates, and I think it would set a good precedent for labor.” Playbook also reported that Fain was recently approached about a potential presidential run and has not ruled it out privately. “The only presidency I have ever had any interest in is with the UAW to continue to build on the great work we’ve done over the last 3 and a half years,” Fain said in a statement to the outlet.  Fain has aligned himself with the Democratic Party’s far-Left wing. Fain bucked the establishment and endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, citing what he described as her ties to corporate interests. “I talk all the time about … one of the biggest problems in this country right now … the rich, the corporate class,” Fain told The Lever. “They’ve divided the working class … while we’re busy pointing fingers at each other, they’re taking more and more of the profits we generate.”  “It’s a scam,” he added.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said Tuesday that his former son-in-law, Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), has put his family into the “seventh level of hell” as the increasingly public feud between the two Republicans escalates. Miller and Emily Moreno, the senator’s daughter, have spent months battling in court over custody of their young daughter, with Emily accusing the congressman of domestic abuse and child endangerment. Miller has denied the allegations, sued his ex-wife for defamation, and publicly claimed she suffers from mental illness. Speaking with entertainment site TMZ from a Capitol Hill hallway, Moreno addressed Miller’s recent statements and took questions about why he hadn’t gone public with his feelings earlier. The one topic he refused to address was politics, saying repeatedly that he did not care about how his statements could affect Miller’s re-election campaign — and, by extension, the balance of power in the House of Representatives. WATCH:

A Democratic congressional candidate competing Tuesday in a closely watched Michigan primary has repeatedly criticized what he calls America’s “cult of hard work,” urged the election of more socialist members to Congress, and accused Republicans of being an alliance between “fossil fuel billionaires” and “white supremacists.” William Lawrence, a Democratic Socialists of America member, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, and Democratic candidate in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, made the remarks across multiple appearances on left-wing podcasts and radio programs uncovered by The Daily Wire. Lawrence is competing in Tuesday’s Democratic primary against former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam for the chance to challenge Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) in November. The district is rated a “Toss-Up” by the Cook Political Report and is expected to be one of the country’s most competitive House races. In one episode of his podcast “Hegemonicon,” Lawrence described what he sees as uniquely American problems facing the political Left. “You mentioned U.S. exceptionalism, the cult of hard work,” Lawrence said of American politics and culture. In the same discussion, Lawrence argued that the Left needs to elect more openly socialist lawmakers and specifically called for additional Democratic Socialists of America members in Congress. “I think sometimes we want to talk about accountability, as if it’s simply a moral calculation, where we need more accountable working class and progressive or Left legislator[s] — we need more accountable DSA members in Congress,” Lawrence said. Lawrence argued that socialist lawmakers should be supported by an organized political movement capable of protecting them after taking controversial votes against the political establishment. “But to become an outsider to that is, you know, we need a lot of reinforcements,” he said. In a separate 2018 appearance on the left-wing radio program Rising Up With Sonali, Lawrence attacked the Republican Party in sweeping terms. “I said it before. The Republican Party is an organized alliance between fossil fuel billionaires like the Koch brothers and white supremacists like Steve Bannon and Ron DeSantis,” Lawrence said. “They do not care one bit for the idea of democracy, and they are actively dismantling every piece of our civil liberties and our freedoms that we have fought and people have died for over the course of this country’s history.” Lawrence has built his political career through left-wing activist organizations. He helped found the Sunrise Movement, the youth climate organization that became one of the driving forces behind the Green New Deal, and has campaigned unapologetically on the far-left despite running in one of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts. His candidacy has highlighted an ongoing divide within the Democratic Party between its far-left and establishment wings. Lawrence has received the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and has both endorsed and been endorsed by Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, another left-wing darling in Michigan. More moderate Democrats have lined up behind his primary opponents, with Brink endorsed by former Governor Jennifer Granholm and Maasdam backed by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). Some Democratic strategists have warned that nominating Lawrence could make it harder for the party to flip the district in November, arguing his far-left positions may be a difficult fit in a swing seat that President Donald Trump carried by just over one percentage point in 2024. Lawrence has dismissed those concerns, arguing voters are “tired of the status quo” and “tired of corporate-funded” candidates. The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary will face Barrett in one of the House races expected to play a key role in determining control of Congress. Republicans have already begun highlighting Lawrence’s comments. “William Lawrence is a Champagne Socialist who attacks American competition and demonizes hard work,” Republican National Committee spokesman Hunter Lovell said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Lawrence hates the American way of life, and he is on a terror path to destroy our country as we know it.”