St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated Congresswoman Cori Bush on Tuesday, capping off an expensive and contentious campaign that ended the two-term lawmaker’s tenure in the U.S. House.
Bell captured 51% of the vote, compared with 45% for Bush and 2.6% for former state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Since the St. Louis- and St. Louis County-based 1st District is heavily Democratic, Bell will be heavily favored to win in November.
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“This district is ready for better and more accountable representation in Washington, D.C.,” Bell said at a victory celebration in St. Louis. “Progressives should actually make progress. And that’s what I’ve done my entire career.”
Bell’s victory is a win for pro-Israel groups that spent millions of dollars to boost his candidacy because of Bush’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war. It’s a loss for the St. Louis progressive movement that’s gained power in recent years.
And it’s the second time a member of “the Squad” has lost a bid for reelection, after New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman lost to George Latimer in their June primary.
“I try to stay away from the labels because I think that's part of the problem that leads to the political gridlock in our government now, which results in nothing getting done,” said Bell, when asked what it meant to defeat another member of “the Squad.” “I'm old enough to remember when Democrats and Republicans butted heads, reached that 11th-hour compromise, and they went and had a beer together. I believe I'm cut from that cloth.”
It's been a tumultuous 2024 election cycle for Bell.
Last year, Bell announced he was running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, joining a field that ultimately included Independence attorney Lucas Kunce and state Sen. Karla May. Despite having high name recognition in the St. Louis area, Bell struggled to match Kunce’s fundraising and failed to consolidate support among Black elected officials who endorsed either Kunce or May.
But Bell’s political trajectory changed after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel. Bush condemned Hamas but also called for an end to the U.S. government’s support for “Israel’s military occupation and apartheid.”
She also said she wouldn’t be silent over “Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign” after the country launched a military offensive in Gaza.
Those comments provoked outrage both locally and nationally from Jewish groups. And Bell cited Bush’s criticism of Israel as one of the reasons he chose to end his U.S. Senate campaign and instead run against Bush. But he also contended that Bush wasn’t effective and promised to be more collaborative in order to bring more money to the St. Louis region.
“I believe in leading from the front and setting the example,” Bell said. “I don't want anybody that's working with me to think that they're outworking me, because you're not going to do that.”
Bush concedes in a fiery speech
Bush ended up winning in St. Louis by around 4,000 votes but lost St. Louis County by nearly 11,000 votes.
“We need to build the community back because what just happened helped to rip the community apart,” Bush said. “I don't want to feed into that because we have to be one St. Louis. I just hope he actually takes the time to learn about our Palestinian and our Arab and our Muslim community, that he actually speaks to you and that he sees the beauty in what we have created.”
Bush said she had no regrets about speaking up for Palestinians and criticizing Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
While Bush managed to attract key endorsements from Democratic leaders such as state House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and a number of local Black elected officials including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, Bell received the backing of St. Louis County municipal leaders like Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones. He also received support from prominent trade unions that are upset with Bush for voting against a major federal infrastructure bill in 2021.
Bush counterattacked with ads questioning Bell’s Democratic credentials, pointing to how he helped try to get a Republican elected in the 1st Congressional District in 2006.
Bush also contended that her opposition was so “weak” it needed millions of dollars to defeat her.
“Pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take the strings off,” Bush said.
Bell benefited from a substantial increase in fundraising. He also received a massive amount of help from pro-Israel groups like the United Democracy Fund, which is the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Those third-party groups spent millions of dollars on ads that primarily attacked Bush’s voting and attendance record. They didn’t mention her criticism of Israel, which was likely purposeful since the 1st Congressional District contains a plurality of African American voters, who often don’t cite the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a reason to support or oppose a candidate.
AIPAC said in a statement that “a progressive pro-Israel Democrat has prevailed over a candidate who represents the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state.”
“Voters across America are rejecting anti-Israel voices in favor of candidates who understand the vital importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” the statement said.
Bush ran an ad featuring Michael Brown Sr., who lambasted Bell for not charging former Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson with shooting and killing his son Michael Brown Jr. Both Bush and Bell were considered major political success stories of the Ferguson protest movement.
“They want to represent all the people of this district. I am asking that they do right by Mike Brown's family,” Bush said.
If Bell is elected in the general election in November, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page will choose his replacement as prosecutor.
One potential successor is Beth Orwick, who currently serves as Page’s chief of staff. Orwick previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and as a longtime assistant circuit attorney. She also served as St. Louis County counselor before Page elevated her to chief of staff.
