St. Louis Post-Dispatch endorses primary challenger to Cori Bush

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board has endorsed St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell in the Democratic primary against Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the high-profile progressive who is a member of the House “Squad.”

The editorial criticized Bush, arguing she and the other progressives in that group had been more effective at winning headlines than enacting strong public policies.

“Missouri’s First Congressional District, encompassing St. Louis city and northern St. Louis County, is our region’s most direct connection to the federal government’s seat of power,” the editorial board said in a piece published Thursday. 

“For the past four years, the district has been in the hands of U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a Democrat who has generally appeared less interested in working that system for the good of her constituents than attacking it on behalf of a small, hard-left klatch of lawmakers — ‘the Squad’ — who are good at getting headlines but bad at actually accomplishing anything,” the board continued.

Bush is facing a tough primary race against Bell.

A poll released in late June found Bell ahead of her by 1 point. Her fellow Squad member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) lost his primary last month to a moderate after pro-Israel groups entered the race.

Bowman and Bush have been outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas, which has killed tens of thousands.

The district is heavily Democratic, and whoever wins the primary will be the heavy favorite in November.

“Democratic primary voters in the overwhelmingly Democratic district weren’t offered a viable alternative to Bush two years ago,” the Post-Dispatch editorial board said in their Thursday piece. “This year, they have a terrific one. We enthusiastically endorse Wesley Bell for the Democratic nomination to this seat in the Aug. 6 primaries.”

The Post-Dispatch’s editorial board said “Bush’s almost immediate induction into the small clique of progressive House rabble-rousers positioned her as a darling of fringe-left activists — and thus irrelevant to what actually happens in Washington.”

“Bush voted against the Biden administration’s landmark infrastructure package — one of only six House Democrats to do so — to protest the fact that a separate social-spending package was stalled,” the board continued. “That myopic stance helps explain why labor interests that previously backed Bush have moved to Bell.”

The board also went after Bush’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas, throughout which she has been a strong advocate for Palestinian rights and has pushed for a cease-fire.

“Even more outrageous has been Bush’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war,” the board wrote. “Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the U.S. — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election.”

The Hill has reached out to Bush’s office and campaign for comment.