Congressman Wesley Bell defeated former Congresswoman Cori Bush on Tuesday in a bitter rematch of the 2024 Democratic primary to represent Missouri's 1st District.
With nearly all of the votes counted Tuesday night, Bell led Bush 59.2% to 36.9%.
Bell is likely to keep his House seat representing St. Louis and much of St. Louis County because of the district's overwhelmingly Democratic base.
Bell is in his first term after defeating Bush, who represented the 1st District from 2021 through 2025, in the primary two years ago.
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Bell received support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, the Congressional Black Caucus and a variety of trade unions.
On Tuesday evening, Bell spent part of his victory speech thanking voters, volunteers, campaign staff, labor unions and faith leaders who endorsed him. He also touted his record from his time as a Ferguson City Council member to his tenure as St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, when he started a diversion advisory committee.
"I am extremely humbled and honored that you have put your faith in me for a second time," Bell said. "You sent me to D.C. to get things done."
Bell's victory follows a tense campaign against the former congresswoman. It's a disappointment to the progressive movement that has seen strong wins, especially in recent months, unseating incumbents in primary races in New York, Denver and other cities.
Bush was part of a similar progressive insurgency in 2020 when she beat longtime Congressman Lacy Clay. Bush had hoped to recapture that same energy this time around. She ran a campaign that focused on "Medicare for All," affordability and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She also criticized the Iran war and campaigned on securing funding to help St. Louisans recover from the May 2025 tornado.
Bell shared many of those positions, but their campaigns diverged significantly when it came to whether the United States should extend or cut off military aid for Israel, a defining issue of this campaign and many other Democratic primary races over the past few years.
During his victory speech, Bell highlighted his efforts in working with Missouri Republican lawmakers to get tornado relief passed. He also criticized the Trump administration's agenda.
"We are seeing from this administration, cruelty, chaos and corruption," Bell said. "Costs are out of control, health care costs have skyrocketed, the Voting Rights Act has been gutted by the Supreme Court, which means our very democracy is under attack."
Bell will face off in the Nov. 3 election against Paul Berry III, who defeated Andrew Jones in the Republican primary.
Bush defiant, calls for Bell to be held accountable
During an at-times fiery concession speech, Bush called on 1st District voters to hold Bell accountable — and on Bell to be more accessible to his constituents.
"St. Louis, you deserve a representative that sees you, that hears you, that cares about every single one of you," Bush said. "That's why I'm looking at every single one of you, because you deserve that. That's the lowest bar."
Bush campaigned on cutting off aid to Israel, citing reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that have called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide. Bell criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has said the U.S. needs to support its allies in the Middle East. He also declined to call Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide.
Bush's campaign criticized the amount of money that Bell had received from pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its political action committee, the United Democracy Project PAC. But her campaign didn't have enough money to respond on television to Bell's barrage of advertisements.
Still, Bush said the fact that Democrats are souring on groups like AIPAC – and are more critical of what Israel is doing in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran – is encouraging.
"And when I said last time, 'AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down?' Let's be clear. That kingdom is falling down, and I ain't done," Bush said. "And I'm not just coming for AIPAC. This ain't even about AIPAC. The billionaires, the corporations that think they're people – that's who I'm coming for."
Near the end of her speech, Bush emphasized that her supporters shouldn't leave discouraged – but, instead, be inspired to organize.
"We're also not going to be what happened to us," Bush said. "We're not going to villainize or demonize anyone. We're not walking out of here with hatred. Not even for the congressman. No hate. We don't hate. No hate. Truth. This is about truth and accountability, and that's what we will go do."
1st District's future in doubt
Missouri Republicans have openly discussed embarking on another redistricting plan next year in which they'd pair pieces of St. Louis and St. Louis County with largely rural areas. That's become possible because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that substantially weakened the Voting Rights Act.
If Republicans follow through on that plan, they would be breaking a decades-long alliance with St. Louis' Black Democrats. The Missouri GOP largely supported keeping the state's 1st District majority African American, since it made the 2nd and 3rd districts more Republican.
The GOP-controlled legislature divided Kansas City into three districts last year, though whether that stands is up in the air because of a redistricting referendum that voters could decide on later this fall.
2nd and 3rd districts
Congresswoman Ann Wagner defeated four Republican primary challengers in the 2nd Congressional District and will square off in the fall against Fred Wellman.
Wellman is a podcaster who served in the Army. He's raised more than $1 million for his campaign and is hoping to get national Democrats to support him. He narrowly defeated former educator Joan VonDras, thanks to his big margins in St. Louis County.
In the 3rd District, GOP Congressman Bob Onder and Democrat Bethany Mann both won their primaries Tuesday and will face each other in November.
Onder easily won his race against Mann in 2024, though the 3rd District is more competitive after 2025 redistricting.
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