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Second ‘Squad’ member defeated in Missouri Democratic primary by county prosecutor

August 07, 2024

By Joe Mueller (The Center Square)

A second member of “The Squad” in the U.S. House was defeated in a primary on Tuesday as a county prosecutor defeated incumbent Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st District.

Wesley Bell, who dropped out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Josh Hawley, won with 52% of the vote to Bush’s 47%, with 40% of precincts reporting to the Missouri Secretary of State. Bell received 56% of the vote in St. Louis County, where he’s currently prosecutor, but Bush received 55% of the vote in the City of St. Louis.

Bell raised $4.7 million to Bush’s $2.9 million, according to federal election data. Millions more supported Bell through political action committees.

“Running a positive message in a campaign is the right thing to do,” Bell told supporters at a gathering in downtown St. Louis televised by several outlets. “Words matter. We ran a campaign on issues. That’s what we do.”

Bell decided to face Bush last October after she criticized Israel and accused its government of an “ethnic cleansing campaign.” U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York in June was the first member of “the squad” to lose a Democratic primary after criticizing Israel.

“Babies, dead,” Bush posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Pregnant women, dead. Elderly, dead. Generations of families, dead. Millions of people in Gaza with nowhere to go being slaughtered. The U.S. must stop funding these atrocities against Palestinians.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued a statement congratulating Bell.

“Once again, a progressive pro-Israel Democrat has prevailed over a candidate who represents the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state,” according to the statement.

Bell and Bush gained notoriety during the 2014 Ferguson uprisings surrounding Michael Brown, who was killed by police officer Darren Wilson. In Bush’s television campaign ads, Brown’s father accused Bell of not fulfilling a promise to ensure justice for his son.

In 2018, Bell became the first Black prosecutor in St. Louis County when he defeated prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who led the Ferguson investigation and didn’t indict Officer Darren Wilson. In 2020, Bell’s review of the case also found no charges against Wilson.

Bush defeated U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay in 2020. Clay and his father held the seat for decades.

Bush voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, one of six Democrats to vote against the bill. She strongly voice opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade and talked about an abortion she had as a teenager after being sexually assaulted in television campaign commercials.

U.S. Senate: Lucas Kunce, who lost the 2022 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate to Trudy Busch Valentine, won a four-candidate race for this year’s nomination with 66% of the vote. Republican incumbent Josh Hawley wasn’t opposed in the primary.

U.S. Representative District 3: State Senator Bob Onder, the only candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary race, won the nomination with 47% of the vote. The seat was held by retiring Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who endorsed former state Senator Kurt Schaefer, who received 37% of the vote in a seven-way race.

All of the other incumbent Republican U.S. Representatives who had primary challengers won their elections.

Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.