AIPAC-backed Wesley Bell defeats Israel critic Cori Bush in Missouri primary rematch

Democratic socialist Bush was first beaten by Bell in a 2024 face-off; Bush made Bell’s ties to AIPAC a central issue in her campaign

JTA — Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell registered a resounding victory in his Democratic primary Tuesday against former Rep. Cori Bush, a prominent Democratic socialist and ardent critic of Israel whom Bell had also defeated in the 2024 primary.

Bell is a supporter of Israel and was backed by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

The Associated Press called the race just an hour after polls closed, at 8:02pm local time. By the time 99% of the vote was counted, Bell had garnered 59.2% of the ballots to Bush’s 36.9%.

“We approached this in a very simple way,” Bell said in his victory speech. “We’re going to work for the people right here in St. Louis.”

Recognizing that the area “has not seen its best days,” with families struggling to buy groceries and fill up their gas tanks, Bell stressed the importance of “coming together” in his victory speech. He also reached out directly to his primary opponents, stressing the “need to start rallying around one another.”

Bush, in her concession speech, continued her attacks on her opponent.

“St. Louis, you deserve a representative that sees you, that hears you, that cares about every single one of you,” she said, blasting Bell for not attending certain candidate forums and accusing him of “running a whole campaign on smears.”

“For the next two years, this community will be represented by someone that didn’t deem you valuable enough,” Bush added.

The primary is a déjà vu moment for St. Louis. The same pair of candidates also faced off in the district’s 2024 primary. At the time, the district was represented by Bush.

Bell prevailed that year in a clash that was largely defined by a $9 million influx of AIPAC cash supporting him. In this rematch, Bush made the American Israel Public Affairs Committee a central issue in her campaign, similar to other anti-Israel candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.

In response to Tuesday’s election results, AIPAC posted its congratulations to Bell on X: “Our community was proud to support a strong, principled Democratic leader,” the lobby stated.

The Washington, D.C.-based Jewish Democratic Council of America, which had mobilized networks of voters to make phone calls in support of Bell, was quick to congratulate the congressman following his victory.

“Rep. Bell is a leader in taking on Trump’s corruption,” the group posted on X. “We look forward to seeing him continue to fight for our Jewish and Democratic values.”

During her concession speech, Bush accused those with outside interests of interfering in domestic politics. “Billionaires want to control this district, Republican billionaires, to be exact,” Bush said. She described Bell’s campaign as “funded primarily by Republican Trump MAGA billionaires.”

In a written statement prior to the primary, Bush told JTA, “AIPAC has become yet another way for MAGA-donors to divide the Democratic base by meddling in primaries.” She added, “In St. Louis and across the country, people know that our fight against antisemitism means fighting against the far-right’s effort to divide us.”

Federal Election Commission records show that this time around, AIPAC has invested far less in the race. Through its United Democracy Project super PAC, the pro-Israel lobby has spent in the neighborhood of $3 million on the rematch, with the vast majority targeted at opposing Bush.

Much in common aside from Israel

Aside from their conflicting perspectives on Israel, Bell and Bush have much in common. Born in Missouri in the mid-1970s, they are both Black progressive Democrats who entered politics after the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in the city of Ferguson.

Amid protests across Ferguson for police reforms, Bell won a seat on the city council and focused on passing such changes. He went on to become St. Louis County prosecutor in 2018, defeating a 27-year incumbent who had failed to prosecute the officer who had killed Brown.

Bush, meanwhile, became involved in politics by participating in the Ferguson protests. She lost Democratic primaries for the US Senate and House in 2016 and 2018, but then won congressional races in 2020 and 2022. In 2024, however, she lost to Bell by more than 5 percentage points.

The candidates have similar stances on most political issues, prioritizing concerns like reproductive rights, gun violence prevention and the dismantling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as lowering costs of housing, utilities, healthcare and prescriptions.

But they have sharp differences when it comes to Israel, with Bush’s campaign pledging to “stand for justice in Palestine.” She was an outspoken opponent of Israel in Congress, has accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, and was one of just two lawmakers to vote against a 2024 measure banning terrorists involved in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught from entering the United States.

She pledged to bring down AIPAC’s “kingdom” following her 2024 loss.

Bell, in contrast, has been steadfast in his support of Israel.

During his acceptance speech, Bell accused the Trump administration of “cruelty, chaos and corruption,” noting that healthcare costs are soaring, voting rights have been gutted and “democracy is under attack.” He also stressed that “progressives are supposed to make progress,” noting that “it is not enough to just say some nice words or look for attention.”

The thrust of his message was on unity, as he thanked his staffers and campaign volunteers for their “tremendous work,” as well as the voters who threw their support behind him.

“There’s folks who chose to have their voices heard when there are forces trying to take those voices away from you,” he said. “But you chose to show up and let not just the country but the world know that we are here and we are not going away.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.