U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell won a rematch Tuesday in a Democratic primary against former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, and Missouri voters rejected a ballot measure that could have made ii harder to pass citizen-led amendments in the future.
Bell’s primary victory is likely to propel him to reelection in November in the heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District in St. Louis.
Bell, a former St. Louis County prosecutor, was backed by a political group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The pro-Israeli group also financed his ouster of Bush in the 2024 primary after Bush criticized Israel’s response in Gaza to Hamas’ attack on Israel in 2023.
Bush had been a part of a progressive group of House members known as the Squad.
The rematch was one of several consequential primaries. In western Missouri, Republicans are picking a candidate to try to unseat Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in a dramatically reshaped district that is part of President Donald Trump’s attempt to retain a slim House majority in the midterms.
In northern Missouri, Republicans are choosing a potential successor to retiring Rep. Sam Graves, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Meanwhile, Missouri voters were deciding a pair of unique ballot measures backed by the Republican-led Legislature. One defeated measure would have required all citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to pass in each of Missouri's eight congressional districts instead of by a simple statewide majority — a high standard used by no other state. Another amendment under consideration would direct lawmakers to repeal the state’s individual income tax while authorizing a state sales tax expansion.
St. Louis primary pits Israel critic against supporter
The contest between Bush and Bell tested how much the Democratic Party has shifted over the past two years.
The deep-pocketed American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent millions to help oust Bush in 2024. Bell was again supported by AIPAC.
But public opinions of Israel have since shifted, particularly among Democrats. A recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 58% of Democrats now say the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israelis, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024.
This year's primary also tested the clout of democratic socialists, who traveled from across the country to help campaign for Bush.
Bush and Bell both honed their leadership skills in Ferguson amid the racial unrest that followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in 2014. Bell won election to the Ferguson City Council the next year, then defeated a seven-term St. Louis County prosecutor in the 2018 Democratic primary.
Bush, a protest leader, defeated longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in the 2020 Democratic primary. She served two terms before being defeated by Bell.
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Kansas City primary is part of GOP redistricting plan
Missouri was the second Republican state, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call last year to redraw congressional districts to the GOP’s advantage ahead of the midterms. The revamped map stretches Cleaver’s previous Kansas City district eastward into rural central Missouri, giving the new 5th District a Republican tilt.
Cleaver is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. A six-person Republican primary features state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Marine veteran and founding member of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction that has challenged the legislature’s GOP leadership. Brattin now has the backing of some of Missouri's top Republicans, including Gov. Mike Kehoe, and received an endorsement from Trump on the evening before the election.
His main advertising competitor has been Taylor Burks, a Navy officer who previously served as Boone County clerk, which oversees elections in the home county of the University of Missouri.
Retirement creates an opening for a Republican-held seat
Graves, who has represented rural northern Missouri for a quarter century, set off a political scramble when he announced in late March that he wasn’t seeking reelection. He endorsed conservative talk radio host Chris Stigall, who once worked for Graves.
The five-person Republican field in the GOP-leaning 6th District also features Kansas City Council member Nathan Willett. The recent redistricting added more northern Kansas City neighborhoods to the sprawling district. The Democratic primary has three candidates.
