“Hey, hey, the Blues is alright…“
It seemed local bluesman Marquise Knox’s decision to sing Little Milton’s “The Blues Is Alright” was the right choice at the right time of the evening.
Knox served as entertainment for Congresswoman Cori Bush’s election night watch party. By 10:00 pm, the buoyant atmosphere where attendees enjoyed free drinks, a soul food buffet and impromptu line dancing had transformed into a somber affair with those same participants dabbing napkins at moist eyes, shaking disappointed heads or simply standing in a crowd of stunned silence.
By 10:15 p.m., the Associated Press had called the race for Bush’s opponent, Wesley Bell. Unofficial results with all precincts reporting showed the St. Louis County prosecutor had won about 51% of the vote or about 63,000 votes. Bush who had been trailing Bell all day but by late evening, she jumped to about 56,500 votes or 46%, but wasn’t able to diminish Bell’s lead.
“They stole this election,” one bereaved supporter said before angrily exiting the event.
The anguished enthusiast was obviously referring to Bell receiving an estimated $10.7 million in campaign donations and solicitations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) a powerful pro-Israel lobby that targeted Bush for her views on the Israel-Hamas war. The battle between Bell and Bush was one of the most expensive primary races in the nation’s history.
The two other Democrats running in Tuesday’s race, former state legislator Maria Chappelle-Nadal and educator Ron Harshaw, garnered about 3% of the vote. Because the 1st District is heavily Democratic, the primary winner is expected to win on Nov. 5.
The 1st Congressional District covers St. Louis city and parts of north, central and west St. Louis County. Last night, NBC News’ Steve Kornacki broke down the demographic differences in St. Louis that may have contributed to Bush’s loss.
Bush won in high single digits in the city with 52.7% (or 25,902 votes), whereas Bell captured 44.3 of those votes (or 44.3%). In the county, which includes several suburban municipalities, Bell won 55.7% (or 44,554 votes) compared to Bush’s 41.0% (or 30,590) according to Kornacki’s estimates.
Bush is the second member of the so-called “Squad” of progressive democrats who lost reelections largely due to monetary support from pro-Israeli political groups. In June, New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman was defeated by almost 17% by Democrat George Latimer, who was heavily supported by AIPAC.
A bit after Knox reassured the crowd “the blues was alright,” Bush and her entourage took the stage underscoring that theme. After a laborious introduction from her husband, Cortney Merritt, Bush, dressed in an immaculate white pants suit, defiantly vowed to fight on.
“Pulling me away from my position as congresswoman…all you did was take some of the strings off,” Bush declared to responsive cheers. “Now what they gonna see is this other Cori. What happened means it was supposed to happen. What happened means there’s some other work I need to do.”
Pacing the stage like a Gucci-dressed panther on the prowl, Bush said she’s been radicalized even more. “I ain’t scared. The issue is my people not getting what they need and at the end of the day-rather I’m congresswoman or not-I’m still taking care of my people.”
Although she denounced the staggering “Republican and Super Pac money” that contributed to her defeat, Bush implored the audience to not let the primary race “rip the community apart.” She did so, however, while adding a not-so-subtle dig at Bell.
“We have to be one St. Louis and I just hope he actually takes the time to learn about our Palestinian, and our Arab and our Muslim communities. I hope he sees the beauty that we have created that transcends our ethnic backgrounds and our religions…I just want to put that out there as some homework (for Bell).”
As she spoke, supporters shouted “Viva, viva Palestina” (Long live Palestine) and sang “We Ready…” in chorus. Referring to Bell and his outside supporters, some sang the title of Kendrik Lamar’s Drake diss song, “They Not Like us.”
Speaking to anyone who supported or were inspired by her tenure in congress, Bush offered words of encouragement.
“You keep rising. You keep going after what God has given you to go after. You hold fast to who you are and what you believe.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
Sore loser
Of greater concern should the City turnout being a paltry 20%, with the County not much better at 30%. Good luck finding a local gig that pays $174K with comparable benefits. The ad that did gain traction was the one where Bell emphasized her ‘self-serving’ appearance.
There are no ugly victories, just ugly losses. Bush should have been present for more votes while in Congress.
Show up to do your job and cast voted. Her lack of attention to this detail sunk Bush.