Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis, who has joined the Squad in support of Hamas, now has a challenger for reelection in 2024. St. Louis county prosecutor Wesley Bell announced Monday that he will run for the Democratic nomination, in part because of Bush’s hostility toward Israel, and drop his longshot run against Republican Sen. Josh Hawley
Bell, 48, cited the need for American support of “democratic allies Ukraine and Israel,” along with the encouragement he has received from Democratic leaders and donors, in explaining his decision to challenge for Missouri’s first congressional district.
“Understand this unique place that we are with the world literally on fire,” Bell said, according to “National Review.” “I think that we need to make certain that we are providing that effective leadership, not only in our district but in D.C. and on the world stage.”
Bush has taken heat from Democrats and Republicans alike for her stance on Israel. She recently wrote on Twitter (X), “We can’t be silent about Israel’s ethnic-cleansing campaign. Babies, dead. Pregnant women, dead. Elderly, dead. Generations of families, dead. Millions of people in Gaza with nowhere to go being slaughtered. The U.S. must stop funding these atrocities against Palestinians.”
Bell has been critical of Bush’s stance on Hamas and Israel, asserting that the United States must not vacate its role as a world leader and support democracies abroad. Both Bell and Bush rose to political prominence after the Ferguson protests in 2014, which arose in response to the fatal shooting of a young black man, Michael Brown, by a white police officer, Darren Wilson. Wilson later was exonerated by both St. Louis County and the U.S. Justice Department of any wrongdoing in the encounter.
Bush’s office issued a statement saying it was “disheartening that Prosecuting Attorney Bell has decided to abandon his U.S. Senate campaign to become Missouri’s first black Senator after less than five months, and has instead decided to target Missouri’s first black congresswoman.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice
