Wesley Bell won the Democratic primary in the St. Louis area of Missouri on Tuesday, defeating former representative Cori Bush. The Associated Press declared Bell the winner of the primary, and Decision Desk HQ projected that he had fended off Bush's comeback bid.
The district where the primary was held is heavily Democratic. In 2024, former US Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district by 57 percentage points.
The Democratic primary victory for Bell ends the comeback bid of Cori Bush. Bush served in the US House of Representatives from 2021 to 2025 after being elected in 2020.
Campaign spending and endorsements
Bell, a former county prosecutor, received endorsements from House Democratic leadership and the Congressional Black Caucus. He was supported by approximately $3 million from the United Democracy Project, a Super PAC aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Other support for Bell included $1.1 million from the New Democrat Coalition's super PAC and $250,000 from Project 218, which is affiliated with American Bridge. Bush received a little over $200,000 in collective outside spending from progressive groups, including MoveOn and the Working Families Party. Bush had the backing of US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and left-wing groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Justice Democrats.
Amount raised by Wesley Bell as of July 15
As of July 15, Bell had raised nearly $3.6 million and spent more than $2.9 million. During the same period, Bush raised $1.3 million and spent $1.2 million.
Policy disputes and accusations
During the campaign, Bell criticized Bush for voting against US President Joe Biden's 2021 infrastructure bill. Bush stated she opposed the bill because it lacked promised spending on social services.
Bush accused Bell of having his seat bought for him by AIPAC. Bell stated he is in favor of supporting Israel while opposing Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
In the 2024 Democratic primary, Bell ousted Bush by roughly 5 percentage points.
