Bell defeats ‘Squad’ member Bush in tightly contested US House race

ST. LOUIS (CN) — In Missouri, another member of “The Squad” on Tuesday suffered a defeat a primary ballot.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell defeated U.S. Representative Cori Bush for the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District seat. With 95% reporting, Bell had 51.2% of the votes compared to Bush’s 45.6%.

The race was the highlight of several high-profile contests on the Missouri primary ballot.

Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe won a crowded Republican race for governor. With 83% reporting, Kehoe had 39.9% of the vote. State Senator Bill Eigel had 31.5% and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, once considered the race’s frontrunner, had 23.7%.

“Fifteen months ago, people said we couldn’t win,” Kehoe told supporters. “Our own polling showed us 35 points at an underdog … But we believed in our cause, and more importantly, you believed in us.”

Former state Senator Bob Onder won the Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District over state Senator Kurt Schaefer with 45% to 39% of the vote as of 10:15 p.m. Central Time.

U.S. House — 1st District

Bell beat Bush in a race to represent the Democratic stronghold consisting of St. Louis City and parts of St. Louis County. Both consider themselves progressive Democrats who rose to notoriety through their activism in the aftermath of the Ferguson riots after police shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed Black man, in 2014.

While Bush, a member of “The Squad” — a small group of progressive Democrats in Washington, had the advantage of being the incumbent, Bell had more money. According to second quarter reports filed by both campaigns, Bell had $2.4 million on hand compared to $573,000 for Bush.

With the loss, Bush became the second member of the squad to fall in a primary where outside money flowed in for the opponent. Bell’s financial advantage stemmed from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel lobby. AIPAC also contributed a large amount of money in New York to defeat fellow Squad member Representative Jamaal Bowman in a primary last month.

Voters leaving Bristol Elementary School in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves were split.

Brian Edelson said he gave Bell his support due to Bush’s voting record, especially her opposition of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.

Edelson said Bell is more likely to be “voting with the mainstream Democrats on most things, and supporting our next president, Kamala Harris.”

But Bush voters believe she’s been targeted due to her affiliation with “The Squad.”

“I feel like she's been unfairly attacked quite a bit,” said a man who declined to give his name. “And I don't like the way Wesley Bell handled his campaign at all. He was going to run for Senate, then he dropped out because he saw this opportunity to kind of attack her. That’s not someone whose character I would want in Congress.”

Polls fluctuated throughout this race, showing Bell with an advantage between 1 percentage point and 23 points. The latest poll on fivethirthyeight.com showed Bell leading by six percentage points (48-42).

St. Louis University political science professor Kenneth Warren said, “The polls are almost incredulous and I'm pollster. You don't see fluctuations like that.”

Gubernatorial Race

Kehoe won the GOP nomination to replace Republican Governor Mike Parson, who just finished his second term.

Eigel made a late push, which seemed to hurt Ashcroft. Eigel’s push continued into Election Day as he moved past Ashcroft at the ballot box.

“I think they're trying to attract the same group of voters,” said Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, of Ashcroft and Eigel.

That seemed to ring true with Jefferson County Councilmember Bill Tullock, who was still weighing his vote between Kehoe and Eigel while campaigning for a friend outside Windsor Middle School in Imperial, Missouri, on Tuesday morning. He said Kehoe has the more traditional business experience, while Eigel was not afraid to make noise.

“I've met him personally,” Tullock said of Kehoe. “Matter of fact, I donated to his campaign. And I think he's going to serve the people. I think he's more of an established candidate, as opposed to the other one.”

Ashcroft had name recognition: His father, John Ashcroft, was Missouri governor and U.S. attorney general under George W. Bush. But Kehoe has a major fundraising advantage, lapping his opponents by raising almost $13 million over the past two years, the Missouri Independent reported.

Voter Gary Selbert supported Ashcroft. He said he likes the job Ashcroft did as Secretary of State.

“I'm just concerned about mostly fiscal concerns,” Selbert said. “I think they have some good ideas and I think they've been doing a good job last couple of years.”

All three candidates in their ads are touting how they will be tough on illegal immigration and stop the “China land grab” of Missouri farms.

Kehoe will be a heavy favorite to win the general election in November.

Once a swing state, Missouri has trended to the hard right in recent elections. Former President Donald Trump carried the state with over 56% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. Parson garnered 57.1% of the votes for governor in 2020.

U.S. House — 3rd District

Onder rode former President Donald Trump’s endorsement to an easy win over Schaefer to replace U.S. Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer in a Republican stronghold that covers central Missouri and parts of the St. Louis suburbs.

Earlier this year Luetkemeyer, 72, announced he will not seek a ninth term in Congress and he eventually endorsed Schaefer.

But Onder’s endorsement from Trump and a fundraising advantage carried him to victory. Onder had raised $918,219 and had $678,752 cash on hand, compared to Schaefer’s $235,381 raised and $204,432 cash on hand as of June 30, according to opensecrets.org.

Follow @joeharris_stl

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