ST. LOUIS – Two days before Tuesday’s primary election, Democratic Rep. Cory Bush gave a loud cheer to volunteers and supporters: “I believe we’re going to win!”
Bush is known as a fighter; she went from being a destitute single mother protesting in the streets of Ferguson to a prominent member of a so-called progressive House caucus in Washington. But now, the activist-turned-politician is fighting to avoid losing a primary against a well-financed challenger — four years after he arrived in Washington, defeating the then-president in a primary.
“I’m just trying to figure out why so much money is being spent on our congressional race when our region needs so much,” an exasperated Bush said in an interview with NBC News on a hot summer day.
He was referring to the more than $18 million spent on his race against Wesley Bell, making it the second most expensive House primary in the country. Bell, a St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, has a large advertising budget in the race thanks to nearly $9 million from a pro-Israel group seeking to unseat Bush, an outspoken critic of Israel.
Bell has consistently argued that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas and has said he would support the US ally if elected. There are other issues in the race, including a Justice Department investigation into Bush’s use of campaign funds (Bush has said he is cooperating with the investigation and has denied any wrongdoing). But Israel — and the ads that came out to fight the issue — became the centerpiece of another campaign just five weeks after fellow Bush “staff” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost the New York primary. War in Gaza.
Reflecting on the toughest race of his political career, Bush compared his experience to that of Vice President Kamala Harris, saying some in the party doubted his rise to the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race last month.
“People said, ‘No, we have to look for someone else.’ But he’s been there all this time,” Bush said. “We as a country are not going to overrule a black woman’s leadership. Or any woman … and to me it felt like a direct attack because I feel like that’s what’s happening to me right now.
“The seat of two Black men was 52 years. I’ve been in the chair for three years, is that enough?” Bush said. “If I hadn’t delivered dollars to the district, it would have been different.”
Self-proclaimed progressives, Bush and Bell have similar positions on most issues: Both believe in reducing health care costs, making society safer, and adopting policies aimed at helping the working class. Abortion rights on the Missouri ballot were also central to both campaigns.
Bush acknowledged the similarities, but argued that he is more “in step with the community” he represents in Washington, including a Gaza ceasefire resolution backed by the progressive mayor of St. Louis. point in ruby-red condition.
Bush, a fierce critic of the Israeli government, held a rally against the funding of the Jewish state to protest the military campaign conducted by Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 terrorist attacks. Bush accused Israel of a “campaign of ethnic cleansing”.
Along with other Democrats, Bush rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint appeal to Congress this month. He supported protests on college campuses and brought a Palestinian student to Biden’s State of the Union address in March while publicly opposing the administration’s pro-Israel policies.
In one of his first votes as a member of Congress in 2021, Bush joined eight of his colleagues in opposing $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome short-range missile defense system. He described Israel as an “apartheid state” and instead called for more resources for Palestine.
Some leaders of the Jewish community condemned Bush’s position. A group of 30 rabbis from the region endorsed Bell in the spring and accused Bush of anti-Semitism.
Bush doubled down on his rhetoric. “Do I regret working to save the lives of 40,000 Palestinians who have disappeared now?” No, I don’t regret it,” Bush said. “Because I fight anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I fight against all forms of hatred.”
Bell focused on Bush’s positions and the rifts in the community, which as of 2015 was home to at least 60,000 Jews. according to Louis Jewish Federation.
According to leaked audio obtained by NBC affiliate KSDK and confirmed by both Bell and Bush, Bell abandoned his long-shot bid against Republican Sen. Josh Hawley last year and instead campaigned aggressively against Bush, whom he once vowed not to challenge.
“Ironically, the Senate race is what opened my eyes to the needs of this particular district,” Bell told NBC News during a meeting at a downtown restaurant. “And then the straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when I met people on the ground in D.C. and the recurring theme was not only that your congressman is not working with people, but that it’s hurting your district.”
Bell also put a magnifying glass to Bush’s campaign spending, highlighting an investigation into his campaign’s hiring of Bush’s romantic partner to provide security services. Bush confirmed the federal investigation, but called the complaints “baseless.”
Both Bush and Bell argued that the race was about more than just the Middle East.
Bush, a registered nurse, cited support from local labor and union leaders as well as reproductive rights organizations, while Bell defended her record as a prosecutor who has promised criminal justice reform to a community with a troubled relationship with police.
Bush and Bell’s political careers began following the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed black teenager Mike Brown. Bush gained attention as a Black Lives Matter activist, and Bell won the race. He was long removed from office to become a black prosecutor who championed Ferguson city council and later police reform.
The candidates hailed the insults in ads that hit the airwaves, including a Bush ad featuring Michael Brown Sr., who railed against Bell for not bringing charges against the police officer who shot and killed his son. (Bell said the decision was “one of the hardest things” he’s ever had to do.)
Bell, meanwhile, spent most of his recording session in front of a supportive crowd that defended his record on Sunday. “We’ve got community policing, we’ve got court reform, we’ve got body cameras for every officer in our district, and we’ve done that by finding ways to work together,” he said.
House Democratic leadership member Katherine Clark traveled to Missouri to stump for Bush on Friday. He told supporters that Bush is attending the party’s caucuses in Washington and is working not only with other Democrats but also across the aisle in hopes of softening the blow of Bell’s attack on him — most notably, Bush voted against Biden’s signature Infrastructure Act because it left more out. progressive policies.
That’s the kind of grassroots support Bowman lacked in his New York primary, though he too was endorsed by leadership that traditionally supports incumbents.
Bell closed his event by telling the intimate gathering that he “feels good” about winning Tuesday’s election.
Bush is of the same opinion.
“We’re going to win,” he said when asked about the potential loss. “But I’m not going to stop just because of the title change. “I am not there for the title, but for the benefit of the society.”