Cori Bush challenges Wesley Bell in Missouri rematch, citing $1.6 billion tornado damage and AIPAC travel
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 1. A $1.6 billion tornado damage figure anchors former Rep. Cori Bush's primary challenge against incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri's 1st Congressional District, with the Aug. 4 Democratic contest shaped by Bell's response to a May 2025 St. Louis tornado and a subsequent trip to Israel. Bush, who lost the seat narrowly to Bell in November 2024, has pledged to run without corporate cash.
Key takeaways
- Former Rep. Cori Bush is challenging incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st Congressional District.
- Bush's campaign centers on a May 2025 St. Louis tornado that she says caused $1.6 billion in damages, accusing Bell of taking a donor-funded trip to Israel less than 90 days later.
- Bell says he was on the ground immediately after the storm and coordinated with lawmakers to secure over $200 million in FEMA disaster relief.
- Bush, a Democratic Socialists of America member who lost the seat to Bell in November 2024, has pledged to serve without corporate cash or AIPAC-funded trips.
- The race reflects a broader Democratic fracture, with DSA-aligned candidates challenging incumbents nationally amid a widening party divide over Israel.
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 1. A $1.6 billion tornado damage figure anchors former Rep. Cori Bush's primary challenge against incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri's 1st Congressional District, with the Aug. 4 Democratic contest shaped by Bell's response to a May 2025 St. Louis tornado and a subsequent trip to Israel. Bush, who lost the seat narrowly to Bell in November 2024, has pledged to run without corporate cash.
The tornado attack and Israel travel charge
In a Thursday campaign ad, Bush accused Bell of failing to prioritize local disaster recovery. She posted on X that after the tornado "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," according to the post. An earlier X post from Bush described Bell as "a former Republican campaign manager who is bought and paid for by AIPAC." She said the campaign would return to Washington "with no corporate cash or AIPAC-funded trips."
Bell's rebuttal and FEMA relief secured
Bell's campaign pointed Fox News Digital to his remarks in a recent debate on St. Louis Public Radio. Bell said he was "on the ground immediately" after the storm and worked weeks to coordinate with Missouri's six Republican House members and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., sometimes sitting in their offices to explain the need for federal aid. The effort secured "over $200 million and counting in FEMA disaster relief," he said. A Bell campaign ad featured a constituent who called Bush's attacks "just politics" and said Bell was "fighting for me and my neighbors."
2024 loss, the DSA and a wider party fracture
Bush attributed her narrow 2024 defeat to hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside spending by pro-Israel groups, including those affiliated with AIPAC. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. The Missouri race fits a broader pattern: DSA-aligned candidates have toppled House Democratic incumbents in New York and Colorado and are contesting Wisconsin's gubernatorial race and a Michigan Senate seat. Bush was among Congress's harshest critics of Israel's operations in Gaza before such criticism spread widely in her party, accusing Israel's government of waging a genocide on Palestinians and voting repeatedly against emergency funding for Israel. The U.S.-Israel divide inside the Democratic Party has grown since Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.