Democrat Wesley Bell wins race for Cori Bush’s House seat

St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell will win his House race to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

Bell’s defeat of Republican Andrew Jones is no surprise in the solidly Democratic district, but his victory follows a contentious primary in which he defeated incumbent Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) for the Democratic nomination. 

A member of the progressive group of lawmakers known as the “squad,” Bush faced pushback over her criticism of Israel amid the Middle Eastern country’s war with Hamas. Pro-Israel groups like AIPAC spent millions in the race to prop up Bell, who ran as a progressive but also emphasized his support for Israel. 

Bush was the second “squad” member to lose their primary this year following criticism of their approach to the Israel-Hamas war. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) lost his primary in June to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who ran on a more moderate platform and attacked Bowman over his stance on Israel and other controversies surrounding the incumbent.