Wesley Bell defeats Cori Bush in Democratic primary for St. Louis seat in Congress • Missouri Independent

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush within the Democratic main for the first District Congressional seat on Tuesday, capping a showdown between the best profile political figures to emerge from the Ferguson rebellion 10 years in the past. 

The Related Press referred to as the at 10 p.m. with Bell holding 51% of the vote, Bush at 46% and former state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal at 3%. 

“I’m deeply honored and humbled by the belief the folks of this district have positioned in me,” Bell stated. “This victory belongs to each volunteer, each supporter, and each voter who believes in our imaginative and prescient for a greater future.”

Bell shocked the Missouri political institution in 2018 by defeating a seven-term incumbent to develop into St. Louis County prosecutor. But his win Tuesday was thought-about a victory for the political institution, who’ve lengthy been disenchanted with Bush. 

Bush misplaced her preliminary run for Congress in 2018, then rebounded two years later to defeat 10-term incumbent William Lacy Clay within the closely Democratic district.

She simply gained re-election in 2022, defeating state Sen. Steve Roberts by greater than 30 share factors within the Democratic main. Throughout her time in Congress, she has been a high-profile member of a gaggle of progressive Democrats nicknamed “The Squad.” 

However it was her feedback following Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel that drew Bell into the race and laid the groundwork for his victory. She condemned the assault however referred to as for an finish to “Israeli navy occupation and apartheid.” 

That earned her opposition from teams just like the United Democracy Undertaking, the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which dominated the airwaves within the district with hundreds of thousands of {dollars} price of advertisements praising Bell and attacking Bush. 

Bell’s election in 2018 as the primary Black prosecutor in St. Louis County’s historical past was a part of a wave of progressive wins in prosecutor races across the nation in search of to deal with racial disparities within the felony justice system. 

Earlier than that, Bell labored as a public defender and served as a member of the Ferguson Metropolis Council.

The first Congressional District consists of the entire Metropolis of St. Louis and North St. Louis County, together with items of the central hall equivalent to Clayton and Webster Groves.