ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in a Democratic primary in St. Louis, the second time this year that a party incumbent has been voted out in a costly campaign that reflected deep divisions over the issue of the Gaza war.
Bush, a member of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” was seeking a third term in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the city of St. Louis and part of St. Louis County. Bell is considered the favorite to win this overwhelmingly Democratic district in November, when his party tries to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency and dedication,” Bell said in a statement. “Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.”
In a fiery speech marking her defeat, Bush said that even though she would no longer be a member of Congress, she still had much work ahead of her.
“At the end of the day, I always care about my people, whether I’m a member of Congress or not,” Bush said.
Bell’s campaign received major support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose political action committee, the United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to oust Bush. Bell came under fire after she repeatedly criticized Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
It was a game plan that worked in New York earlier this year. In June, the United Democracy Project spent $15 million to defeat another member of the Squad – U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.
In a statement, the United Democracy Project said the victories of Bell and Latimer, as well as John McGuire’s victory over U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a Republican primary in Virginia last week, were “further proof that pro-Israel stances on both sides of the aisle are good politics. The UDP will continue its efforts to support politicians working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance while countering critics in both political parties.”
Bush said in her speech upon her defeat that she would not change.
“We will continue to support a free Palestine,” Bush said. One member of the crowd responded, “Free, free Palestine.”
In October, Bush called Israel’s retaliation an “ethnic cleansing campaign.” Shortly after the Hamas attack, Bush wrote on social media that Israel’s “collective punishment of Palestinians for the actions of Hamas is a war crime.”
Her comments even sparked a backlash from some of her supporters in her district. Bell, who had planned to run for Senate against Republican incumbent Josh Hawley, decided to challenge Bush instead. He told the Associated Press last month that Bush’s comments about Israel were “wrong and offensive.”
Bush responded that the donors behind AIPAC support former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
“This is just the beginning,” Bush told AP. “Because if they can get me out of office, they will continue to attack other Democrats.”
Bush and Bell demonstrated their leadership skills in Ferguson, Missouri, during the unrest that followed the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of Brown’s death.
Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was walking with a friend on August 9, 2014, when a white police officer, Darren Wilson, approached them. Wilson said he shot in self-defense because Brown was so incensed. Some witnesses said Brown, who was unarmed, raised his hands in surrender. Wilson was cleared of any wrongdoing and resigned, and Brown’s death led to months of protests.
Bush, 48, became a protest leader, outspoken and critical of the way police treated black people in Ferguson and other parts of the St. Louis region. Her activism led to an unsuccessful run against longtime incumbent 1st District Democrat William Lacy Clay in 2018 before she defeated him in 2020. She easily won re-election in 2022.
Bell, 49, began having conversations about community policing after Brown’s death. The lawyer, who previously served as a prosecutor and judge, successfully ran for a seat on the Ferguson City Council before defeating seven-term St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch in the August 2018 Democratic primary.
As prosecutor, Bell reopened the investigation into Brown’s death. In July 2020, he announced that while the investigation had not exonerated Wilson, there was insufficient evidence to charge him.
“My heart breaks” for Brown’s parents, Bell said at the time. “I know this is not the outcome they expected and their pain will last forever.”
Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., appeared in an ad for Bush.
“He used my family for power,” Brown says of Bell in the complaint. “And now he’s trying to betray St. Louis.”
Bush’s campaign focused on what she accomplished for St. Louis. She said her efforts brought $2 billion to the 1st District and her protest on the Capitol steps in 2021 helped extend the federal eviction moratorium amid the COVID-19 pandemic and helped thousands of St. Louis residents.
Bell touted his progressive accomplishments, noting that as prosecutor he said he would not prosecute abortion cases in a state that bans the procedure in most cases. He created diversion programs to allow people with mental health and substance abuse problems to seek treatment instead of prison. And his office has stepped up efforts to investigate possible cases of wrongful conviction.
In Missouri’s 3rd congressional district, which stretches from the western outskirts of the St. Louis region to central Missouri, the candidate with Trump’s backing won. Bob Onder, a doctor and former state senator, defeated former state senator Kurt Schaefer.
Trump wrote on Truth Social last month that Onder was “an incredible America First Patriot.” The former president wrote that Schaefer was “WEAK ON MAGA,” adding, “That’s all you need to know!”
The 3rd District is heavily Republican, and Onder will face Democrat Bethany Mann, a political newcomer, as the favorite in November. ___
This story has been updated to correct that Onder won Missouri’s 3rd District, not Schaefer
___
Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report.
