Wesley Bell beats Cori Bush in Democratic primary for St. Louis congressional seat

 

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell staved off former Congresswoman Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, ending the most expensive candidate primary in Missouri this year.

The Associated Press called the race for Bell shortly after 8 p.m.

Bell will take on one of two Republican candidates, Paul Berry III and Andrew Jones, neither of whom has formed a fundraising committee for their campaigns in the heavily Democratic district, and Libertarian Tom Schmitz in the November general election.

Bell and Bush’s political careers were shaped by the protest movement that erupted in Ferguson in 2014 and grew into a national reckoning over race and policing. 

But for the past several years, one main issue is putting them at odds — Bell’s support for Israel and Bush’s advocacy for Palestinian liberation.

Bell’s backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel PACs led to his re-election spending to be seven times higher than efforts to re-elect Bush.

The 1st District race is the most expensive candidate primary in Missouri this year, with candidates and outside political action committees combining to spend $8.4 million — $7.2 million of that spent on Bell. 

Bell’s campaign has spent almost $3 million over the past two years, including $864,000 on broadcast ads in advance of the primary. Bush, who has spent almost $1.2 million, has only been able to afford $66,400 for broadcast ads.

AIPAC again worked on Bell’s behalf, spending $3.1 million, including $1.5 million on television ads in the St. Louis area through a PAC called the United Democracy Project. Another outside group, New Democrat Majority, has spent about $1.1 million to support Bell.

In 2024, the AIPAC and the other PACs spent more than $8 million backing Bell as part of a broader strategy by AIPAC to unseat Israel’s sharpest critics in Congress, including the “Squad,” which Bush was a part of. 

Bell was among the largest beneficiaries of AIPAC-related spending nationwide in 2024. The group, founded in the 1950s, has been criticized by progressive Democrats and some Middle East scholars for reflexively backing military escalation and indefinite occupation.

Bell said he disagrees with that criticism and characterization of AIPAC. 

“What they focus on is a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship,” Bell told The Independent in June. “I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the current (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not a fan at all, but what I know about that group is that no matter who’s in charge, they’re going to support a strong US-Israeli relationship.”

Bell sits on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Department of Defense, and was recently placed on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which oversees national security developments affecting foreign policy.

While Bell said he takes his role on the foreign affairs and armed services committees seriously, he said his priority is St. Louis.

“We have to focus on regional growth and development,” he said, “because I believe this region is a sleeping giant.” 

Patrick Brown, 58, of Normandy, voted for Bell, adding that he’s done a good job,

“I think Cori kind of fumbled the ball a few times,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think she brought enough funds back to Missouri.

Steve Oluokun, 70, stopped by his polling place in north St. Louis County to cast a vote for Bell.

“He does not hide his feelings about Donald Trump,” said Oluokun. He’s seen many TV advertisements for Bell that portrayed him as a “fighter,” which Oluokun said appealed to him.