Wesley Bell Beats Back Cori Bush Comeback Bid
Incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) beat back a comeback bid by former Rep. Cori Bush in a hotly contested Democratic primary election to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday.
The rematch between Bell and Bush was one of many 2026 primary elections to highlight the internal Democratic Party divide between the party’s insurgent left wing and moderates over the issue of Israel.
In the end, it wasn’t close, as Bell won in a landslide. Bell led Bush with 71% of the vote when the race was called for him.
Bush, who was one of the most left-wing members of Congress in her two terms in office, focused her criticism of Bell on his support for Israel amid its ongoing war in Gaza and efforts to displace Palestinians both there and in the West Bank. She consistently attacked Bell for being propped up by pro-Israel lobby groups.
Indeed, Bell’s campaign in 2024, when he first defeated Bush, and in 2026 were heavily dependent on funding from United Democracy Project, the main super PAC of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The super PAC spent more than $3 million to support Bell’s campaign in 2026 after spending more than $8 million in 2024.
After losing in 2024, Bush promised revenge against AIPAC, stating in her concession speech, “Let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
Bell’s victory comes despite popular sentiment within the Democratic Party souring considerably toward Israel since 2024. The country’s continued campaigns of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advocacy for the unpopular Iran war have all led increasing numbers of Democrats to view the country and its leadership unfavorably. Eighty percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents view Israel unfavorably, according to an April Pew poll. Nearly 60% of Democrats believe the U.S. is too supportive of Israel, according to an AP/NORC poll conducted in July.
Bush was hampered by ethics issues that arose in 2024. The Department of Justice, then under President Joe Biden, investigated her for allegedly misusing campaign funds. She denied the charges and claimed that “nothing came of” the investigation, although the DOJ never stated that it had closed the investigation.
Both Bush and Bell came into politics through the 2014 Black Lives Matter protests that followed the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Bush became a leader in the grassroots protests that provoked a fierce and violent police response and ultimately led to a Department of Justice investigation that found widespread police abuses. Bell ran and won elections for city council in Ferguson following Brown’s death and later, for county prosecutor, adopting some reforms advocated by the Ferguson protest movement.
