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.
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