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A comeback bid launched by former House “Squad” member Cori Bush was thwarted on Tuesday night, as establishment Democrats notched a key victory in the party’s civil war with the insurgent left.
Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., defeated the former congresswoman and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member for the second time since 2024.
Bell ran as a pragmatic alternative to Bush, while still touting himself as a progressive to appeal to Democrats in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
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Before coming to Congress, Bell was a Ferguson, Missouri City Council member and a county prosecutor.
Bush made her name in politics as a Black Lives Matter organizer before coming to Congress, serving two terms before losing to Bell.
She blamed her 2024 loss on the hundreds of thousands of dollars that pro-Israel groups from outside her district spent on the race.
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The far-left firebrand utilized a similar line of attack against Bell this time around as well, accusing him of being controlled by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
“When the disaster caused $1.6 billion in damages and took several lives, Wesley responded by hopping on a flight to Israel funded by Trump’s donors less than 90 days later,” Bush posted on X last week, referring to a 2025 tornado that tore through part of St. Louis.
But those attacks failed to make enough of a dent in Bell’s campaign.
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Bush was part of a wave of DSA-linked candidates posing a challenge to Democrats across the country, even unseating several sitting House lawmakers.
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It was a boon for Republicans, who argue that the Democratic Party is being pulled further left than where most Americans are comfortable with, painting the party as out-of-touch.
Bell is now the heavy favorite to win a second term representing the deep-blue district in November.