Progressive Rep. Cori Bush Defeated By Wesley Bell

Six weeks after successfully removing Rep. Jaamal Bowman (D-New York) in a primary, a prominent pro-Israel super PAC succeeded in defeating another member of the House “squad” of progressive Democrats, targeting Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri).

Already a prime target for centrist and Israel-aligned groups, Bush defied her party’s leadership last year by advocating for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian civilians.

As Bush was seeking a third term representing Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, she faced three challengers, the most prominent being Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney.

Bell won handily with 51% to 46% for Bush.

Bell, who initially sought a Senate seat against Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), withdrew his campaign in late October 2023 – shortly after Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel – and announced his intention to challenge Bush instead.

At a news conference during that time, Bell cited Bush’s early call for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict as a key reason for his decision to enter the race.

“Understand this unique place that we are with the world literally on fire. I think that we need to make certain that we are providing that effective leadership, not only in our district but in D.C. and on the world stage,” Bell said at the news conference.

Although Bell supports Israel’s actions, his campaign has not emphasized the issue, and voters in the majority-minority urban district in the St. Louis area are not as passionately divided on the topic as they might be in more traditionally progressive areas.

Following the example of Democrat George Latimer, who defeated Bowman in New York in June, Bell’s campaign focused on criticizing Bush for being overly ideologically, not sufficiently responsive to her constituents, and notably, for voting against President Joe Biden‘s infrastructure bill.

Bush’s campaign message has been simpler, echoing Bowman’s strategy of framing the race as a contest between big money and grassroots supports – a tactic previously effective for progressive House members like Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennslyvania) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) against well-financed challengers.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC, United Democracy Project and the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, along with the pro-crypto Fairshake PAC and billionaire Reid Hoffman‘s Mainstream Democrats PAC, have invested in Bell’s campaign.

In Bush’s corner, Justice Democrats, the group that first recruited Ocasio-Cortez, and the Working Families Party spent heavily to support their left-wing ally.

Although Bell’s backers outspent Bush’s by about 3-to-1 on advertising, the spending in this race has not reached the levels of the campaign against Bowman, which was the most expensive House primary in U.S. history.

Nonetheless, the spending figures are significant for a safe blue district for one of 435 House seats. The AIPAC’s United Democracy Project has invested nearly $9 million in ads either attacking Bush or supporting Bell.

As the incumbent, Bush has the support of House Democratic leadership and local backing from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.

Bell also enjoyed strong local support, which often serves as a better indicator of the outcome in a low-turnout primary.

The progressive group Indivisible St. Louis, which has strong labor support, and the editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch have endorsed Bell.

In 2018, Bell spoke exclusively to uPolitics about his plans for criminal justice reform in St. Louis.

“One thing that we see is just the need for criminal justice reform,” Bell said. “As it’s been pointed out many times, our population here in the U.S. is 5 percent of the world’s total population, but we represent 25 percent of the world’s prison population. Even in Missouri, African-American males make up about 8 percent of the population but close to 40 percent of the prison population. And that’s a problem.”