“St. Louis is built different. So am I. And so are we.”
That was former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s closing message in an Instagram video last week announcing her run to reclaim the congressional seat she lost last year.
Bush spoke in front of a spray-painted mural of herself along the Mississippi River flood wall. With images of tornado-damaged neighborhoods in the video, she drew a parallel between St. Louis’ resilience and her own, vowing to rebuild “brick by brick.”
Bush’s comeback bid raises questions: Can she overcome the money, attacks on her effectiveness and allegations of misuse of campaign funds that propelled U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell to victory in 2024? What’s changed — politically, socially, or economically — that could shift the race in her favor? And can she reignite the progressive base that first sent her to Washington?
Bush, who ousted longtime incumbent William Lacy Clay in 2020, easily won reelection in 2022. But in 2024, then-St. Louis County Prosecutor Bell narrowly defeated her in the Democratic primary, 51% to 46%, and then went on to win the 1st District seat in November.
In her announcement video, Bush declared: “Missouri needs a fighter who leads with courage. … St. Louis deserves leadership that doesn’t wait for permission, doesn’t answer to wealthy donors and doesn’t hide when things get tough.”
Supporters see a fighter
Those words resonated with Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, who backed Bush in 2024 and says she’s energized about her return.
“The Cori Bush I know is a fighter, and during these times, we’re in need of a strong fighter and advocate,” Sonnier said. “We’ve had a tornado, unprecedented cuts at the federal and state levels. … We really need someone who is unbought and unbossed who can say the things that need to be said and do the things that need to be done.”
Her “unbought” remark was a not-so-subtle jab at Bell, whose campaign received more than $8 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby that targeted Bush for her criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
“I hate anything that sends a message that a political seat can be purchased — especially for an issue that has nothing to do with St. Louis,” Sonnier said.
A voter backs Bell
Not all voters agree. Terry Watkins, a St. Louis resident who lives in the 1st District, says he supports Bell, calling him “a far better choice” for the community. Watkins argues that Bell has shown a stronger commitment to his legislative duties “rather than engaging in activism that clashes with the party and its leadership.”
He also believes Bush’s focus on international issues — particularly the war in Gaza — distracts from local needs.
“Most St. Louisans are not nearly as focused on the affairs of a foreign war, especially during our own economic crisis at home and the encroaching terrors by the current president,” Watkins said.
He claimed Bush’s record on foreign policy “negatively contributed to vulnerable populations across the globe.”
Watkins cited several votes that he says reflect Cori Bush’s stance, noting her opposition to broad, bipartisan spending measures that included funding for sanctions or humanitarian aid to nations such as Libya, Cuba, Syria, Iran, and Ukraine.
“Cori Bush, for all intents and purposes, is a hypocrite — or at the very least, those who accuse Bell of supporting genocide while ignoring Bush’s voting record certainly are,” he said.
Bush and other progressive elected officials often voted against such large packages, arguing they included excessive military funding or insufficient progressive oversight.
Israel, AIPAC and changing sentiments
In October 2023, Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 civilians and taking more than 240 hostages. Bush was among the first U.S. lawmakers to call Israel’s military response “ethnic cleansing,” a statement that drew sharp criticism from Jewish leaders and national pro-Israel groups.
Those groups — including AIPAC — poured millions of dollars into targeted campaigns to defeat Bush and other progressives, such as New York’s Jamaal Bowman, who were critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
But St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Ellyia Green believes public opinion has shifted in Bush’s favor since then.
“St. Louis wants a congressperson that represents St. Louis, not Israel,” Green told The American. “Because we’ve seen how this genocide has played out over the last two years and how the public has turned against the war, against Israel’s actions, against AIPAC … I think it’ll be a different race this time.”
Recent polling appears to support her view on the war. A national Pew Research Center survey found that 39% of Americans now say Israel is “going too far in its military operation,” up from 31% a year ago. Another 59% view Israel’s government unfavorably, an eight-point increase since early 2024.
Rebuilding the base
To win again, both Green and Sonnier say Bush must re-energize her base and rebuild the grassroots operation that carried her to victory in 2020.
In the 2024 primary, Bush won a majority in St. Louis, while Bell’s strength in the county secured his victory. In the city, Bush got 52.7% of the vote to Bell’s 44.3%. But in St. Louis County, where far more votes were cast, Bell won 55.7% to Bush’s 41%, according to post-election estimates.
“She really must drive home to voters what it means to be in that seat and remind them of the issues they’re strongly connected to and how she will fight for those issues,” Sonnier said.
Voters weigh both candidates
James Bell Sr., a government contractor working at the city’s new high-tech NGA site, supports Bush but admits he’s cautious.
“I’m honestly hoping she’s learned from her mistakes,” said Bell, who is not related to Congressman Bell. “My main concern with her was not showing up for work. I looked at her record; she missed more sessions, more votes and voted against more Democrat bills than anyone else in her party, and that’s a problem for me.”
That criticism echoes Congressman Bell’s campaign messaging. His spokesman, Jordan Blasé, told Spectrum News last summer that Bush was “fired by her constituents for failing to represent them and failing to stand up for the Democratic agenda.”
Even so, James Bell Sr. said he still prefers Bush over the incumbent.
“I know she’ll do a better job than Wes Bell,” he said. “He’s been too quiet, and it seems he only shows up to put his face on things.”
Watkins, however, points to Bell’s record in office. He credited Bell with helping bring in $5 million for improvements at Lambert Airport and $7 million for affordable housing, and for introducing the Community First Pretrial Reform Act, which would fund local efforts to reduce jail populations and support community-based alternatives to incarceration.
A race likely to define 2026
Green declined to address Bell’s claims but said Bush’s advocacy has been critical for St. Louis.
“We’ve seen Cori use her voice and her vote to consistently make sure St. Louis issues are visible at the federal level and stand up for what’s right,” she said. “With everything that’s happening in our country right now, I think the Democratic Party needs fighters, not folders.”
As Bush begins her comeback campaign, the contest between her and Bell could again test the balance of power between grassroots progressives and establishment Democrats — and whether huge sums of money or local preferences decide who represents St. Louis in Washington.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
She seriously doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell. She was an incumbent with over $4 million dollars seeking re-election and lost. She will not be able to raise that kind of money at all. She’ll be lucky to raise a few hundred thousand dollars. Moreover, Bell has been highly visible doing constituent work since he was elected to office. He is everywhere. You didn’t see Bush hardly at all at events in the First Congressional District when she was in office. In fact, that’s why she lost. Bell is at every event possible. He was visible after the tornado. He was visible when those houses blew up in North County. Bush did very little to no constituent work in between elections. She was out sitting-in in someone else’s district not her own. She beat Clay on a fluke. She was the benefactor of Republicans voting in the Democratic primary in the city in an effort to defeat Kim Garner who then also voted for her. She raised $700,000 against Clay when she was not the incumbent. That rose to $2,000,000 against Roberts and $4,000,000 against Bell as an incumbent. Bell is now the incumbent. The incumbent gets the funds. Plus, Bell has a strong voter base in St Louis County which votes at higher numbers than the city. Her candidacy is doomed to failure.
Her Progressive Base ? Her crazy base. That woman is a disgrace to St. Louis, she acts like a Buffoon, is way out of her league and I would never vote Democrat anyway but this woman is nuts.
No to Bell or any politician who takes money from AIPAC. Period. No more taxpayer dollars to the IDF, we need healthcare.
Wesley Bell will continue to receive my support. He has proven publically that he cares for our community and he has the receipts. Bush was a lot of hot air. She was camera whore and love making noise to benefit herself on the national level only. Even if she changed her focus, she isn’t trust worthy because she demonstrated within her term that silence was her strongest attribute for St Louis.