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Cori Bush is running for Congress again, the progressive activist announced Friday.
Bush is seeking her old seat in Missouri’s reliably blue 1st District, which she lost to former St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell in a 2024 primary.
Bush won the first of two terms in 2020, parlaying her prominence leading protests after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown into an unofficial spot as part of the “Squad,” a group of young House progressives.
“I ran for Congress to change things for regular people. I’m running again because St. Louis deserves leadership that doesn’t wait for permission, doesn’t answer to wealthy donors and doesn’t hide when things get tough,” Bush said in her campaign video announcement this time around.
“Missouri voters already rendered their verdict when they voted her out of office last year and chose to move on,” Bell said on X.
Bell benefited from large campaign donations from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC at a time when Bush was fiercely advocating on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza. Bush previously called Israel’s retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks an “ethnic cleansing campaign.”
Bell also resurfaced claims that Bush misused funds for personal gain while in office, which she has previously denied. In 2024, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into Bush for hiring her husband on her security team, which she said she did out of fear for her safety.
“As a rank-and-file member of Congress I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services,” she said at the time.