By Joe Mueller (The Center Square)
A second member of the U.S. House “squad” lost his primary election on Tuesday, as a county prosecutor defeated incumbent Cory Busch in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st District.
Wesley Bell, who dropped out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Josh Hawley, received 52 percent of the vote to Bush’s 47 percent, including 40 % of precincts report to the Missouri Secretary of State. Bell, currently serving as prosecutor, received 56% of the vote in St. Louis County, but Busch received 55% of the vote in St. Louis City.
Bell raised $4.7 million and Bush raised $2.9 million, according to federal election data. Millions more support Bell through political action committees.
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“Sending a positive message on the campaign trail is the right thing to do,” Bell told supporters at a rally in downtown St. Louis that was televised by multiple media outlets. “Words matter. We ran a campaign on these issues. That’s what we did.
Last October, Bell decided to confront Bush after criticizing Israel and accusing his government of engaging in an “ethnic cleansing campaign.” In June, U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York became the first member of the “squad” to lose a Democratic primary for criticizing Israel.
Bush: “Children, dead” Posted on X, the platform was formerly known as Twitter. “Pregnant women, dead. Old, dead. Generations of families, dead. Millions of people in Gaza have nowhere to go and are being slaughtered. The United States must stop funding these atrocities against Palestinians.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued a statement congratulating Bell.
“Progressive pro-Israel Democrats once again defeated a candidate who represents the extremist fringe hostile to the Jewish state,” the statement read.
Bell and Busch gained notoriety during the 2014 uprising in Ferguson surrounding Michael Brown, who was killed by police officer Darren Wilson. In Bush’s television campaign ad, Brown’s father accused Bell of failing to fulfill his promise to ensure justice for his son.
In 2018, Bell became St. Louis County’s first black prosecutor, defeating prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who led the Ferguson investigation but did not prosecute Officer Darren Wilson. In 2020, Bell’s review of the case also found no charges against Wilson.
Bush defeated U.S. Rep. Lacey Clay in 2020.
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Bush voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, one of six Democrats who voted against the bill. She strongly opposed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade and spoke of her experience having an abortion as a teenager after being sexually assaulted in a television campaign ad.
United States Senate: Lucas Kunce lost the 2022 U.S. Senate Democratic primary to Trudy Busch Valentine but won this year’s nomination with 66% of the vote Four candidates are running. Republican incumbent Josh Hawley is running unopposed in the primary.
United States Representative District 3: State Sen. Bob Onder, the only candidate supported by former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary, won the nomination with 47% of the vote. The seat is held by retired Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who endorsed former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, who received 37% of the vote in the seven-race race .
All other current Republican U.S. representatives with primary challengers won their elections.
Co-organized with permission from Center Square.
