ST. LOUIS – Gripping a microphone outside the courthouse where the infamous Dred Scott case over slavery was argued in 1847, former Rep. Cori Bush portrayed her ouster from Congress as another historic setback set to be reversed.
“We’re standing here saying, send back that descendant, send her back to the place that enslaved people built,” Bush said. “This is our moment.” The crowd chanted “send her back.”
A progressive firebrand who started her political career as a Black Lives Matter organizer in Ferguson, Bush served two terms before losing a primary challenge to Wesley Bell, a moderate local prosecutor.
They’re now locked in an intense rematch that will serve as one of the clearest referendums on Democrats’ shifting political landscape, including anger at the party establishment, rising skepticism of the U.S. alliance with Israel, and the growing clout of democratic socialists.
Both candidates are Black, with political careers rooted in the modern civil rights movement that began with the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. However, they’ve taken divergent paths since then, and the race will test whether voters want to reelect Bell, who has fashioned himself as a pragmatist, or return to Bush, who views legislating and activism as inseparable.
Bush lost to Bell by less than six points two years ago. She attributed her loss to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) spending in the race, stating that “all they did was radicalize me.” This time, her scathing criticisms of the war in Gaza and Democratic leaders have become more commonplace within the party, and she claims to have the “moral authority” in the rematch.
“It’s not that they’re necessarily scared of me. They’re scared of what comes with me. They’re scared of y’all,” Bush told an audience of pro-Palestinian activists, Black Lives Matter organizers, and democratic socialists who had traveled from across the country to canvass for her in the summer heat.
While Bush was in the park, Bell met with senior citizens at a historic Black church. He has dismissed Bush’s attacks by arguing that he has been a more effective lawmaker, and he rallied with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday night, a sign of support from the Democratic establishment.
“She’s not a serious candidate,” Bell stated in an interview. “In this election, the choices are clear. I wake up every day working for St. Louis, and the folks in St. Louis know that I’m going to wake up working for them. And then we’ve got an opponent, Cori, who wakes up thinking about Cori. And we’ve seen it over and over. And that’s why she was fired.”
A personally bitter rematch with national stakes
Early voting for the Aug. 4 primary began Tuesday, but the two candidates have been trading recriminations for months. They accuse each other of misconduct and impropriety.
Bush criticizes Bell over a lawsuit he’s facing from protestors who allege they were assaulted at his town hall last year, as well as a settlement over employment discrimination claims made by someone who worked in Bell’s office when he was a prosecutor.
Bell highlights a previous Justice Department investigation into Bush’s campaign spending, including how she paid her husband as part of her security detail.
Both candidates deny any wrongdoing.
AIPAC’s role has also drawn national attention to the district at a time when the organization, which advocates for a closer U.S.-Israeli relationship, has been a lightning rod within the Democratic Party.
“Cori is the knockout blow to AIPAC,” said former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a close ally of Bush who was also defeated in 2024 by an AIPAC-backed primary challenger in a redrawn New York congressional district. Ahead of the recent rally, Bowman recorded a social media video last weekend calling on progressives “from New York to California” to help mobilize voters during early voting.
Deepening hostility toward Israel has sparked concern about antisemitism among some moderate Democrats and Jewish Americans, who believe anti-Israel rhetoric too often bleeds into prejudice. Bush’s recent event included some Jewish faith leaders who share her criticism of Israel, as well as others who echoed hateful tropes.
One former union leader, Jay Ozier, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war monger,” criticized the “Israel lobby buying elections,” and declared that “we need a representative who is willing to turn over the tables of the money changers.”
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