Cori Bush Seeks Comeback in Rematch Against Wesley Bell

Former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush is looking to return to Congress, setting up a high-profile rematch against Rep. Wesley Bell in Missouri’s Democratic primary.

Missouri voters head to the polls on Aug. 4, and one of the nation’s most closely watched races will take place in the state’s 1st Congressional District, where Bell and Bush are once again battling for the Democratic nomination. The race is expected to serve as another measure of the Democratic Party’s ongoing feud between progressives and moderates, Newsweek reports.

Bush, a founding member of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” represented the St. Louis-based district from 2021 until 2025. She lost her seat to Bell in a bruising 2024 primary that drew national attention and millions of dollars in outside spending.

Bell, the former St. Louis County prosecutor, benefited from significant financial support from outside groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project. Throughout the campaign, Bell also criticized Bush over several issues, including her vote against former President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.

This year’s rematch comes at a time when progressives believe they have the upper hand as the political landscape has shifted. Frustration among many Democratic voters over the party’s response (or lack of response) to President Donald Trump’s second term has fueled renewed support for left-leaning candidates in several recent primaries across the country, including races in New York City, Philadelphia and Denver.

While polling in the district has been sparse, Newsweek looked at the lone poll –– a poll commissioned by Bush’s campaign and conducted by HIT Strategies—showed Bell with a narrow lead. The survey of 401 likely Democratic primary voters found Bell ahead 44% to 40%, while 17% remained undecided. Despite trailing slightly, Bush held a stronger favorability rating, with 52% of respondents viewing her positively compared with 45% for Bell. The poll was conducted from Feb. 19-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.4 percentage points.

Political prediction markets also currently favor Bell. Kalshi gives the incumbent roughly a 59% chance of winning, while Bush stands at about 40%. On Polymarket, Bell’s odds are even stronger at approximately 64%.

Whoever emerges victorious is expected to have a clear path to Congress in November. Missouri’s 1st District is one of the safest Democratic seats in the country, with Donald Trump losing the district by nearly 58 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. The outcome of the primary will likely determine who represents St. Louis in Washington for the next two years.

See how social media is reacting to the matchup below.