Cori Bush could lose her primary amid opposition by the pro-Israel lobby. Yet Israel-Gaza isn’t foremost for her constituents, who are living amid crime and poverty.

In Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, the pro-Israel lobby is pouring millions into a campaign to unseat Bush as part of a broader, well-funded effort to replace critics of the Israeli government and the war in Gaza, such as Bush, with more Israel-friendly Democrats.

Outside groups have already spent over $15 million in this race, according to Open Secrets, a Washington nonprofit that tracks campaign finance and lobbying data. More than 80 percent of that money has gone toward ads opposing Bush and supporting her opponent.

A prominent member of the Squad of far-left Democrats, Bush was the first member of Congress to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, nine days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. She has described Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza — which, according to the Gaza health ministry, has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians — as a genocide. (Israel has denied the allegation in hearings at the U.N.’s top court.)