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ST. LOUIS — <\/span>Gripping a microphone outside the courthouse where the infamous Dred Scott case over slavery was argued in 1847, former Rep. Cori Bush portrayed her ouster from Congress as another historic setback set to be reversed. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re standing here saying, send back that descendant, send her back to the place that enslaved people built,\u201d Bush said. \u201cThis is our moment.\u201d The crowd chanted \u201csend her back.\u201d<\/p>\n A progressive firebrand who started her political career as a Black Lives Matter organizer in Ferguson, Bush served two terms before losing a primary challenge to Wesley Bell, a moderate local prosecutor.<\/p>\n They’re now locked in an intense rematch that will serve as one of the clearest referendums on Democrats’ shifting political landscape, including anger at the party establishment, rising skepticism of the U.S. alliance with Israel and the growing clout of democratic socialists. <\/p>\n Both candidates are Black, with political careers rooted in the modern civil rights movement that began with the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. But they’ve taken divergent paths since then, and the race will test whether voters want to reelect Bell, who has fashioned himself as a pragmatist, or return to Bush, who views legislating and activism and inseparable. <\/p>\n Bush lost to Bell by less than six points two years ago. She blamed her loss on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s spending in the race and told supporters that \u201call they did was radicalize me.\u201d This time, her scathing criticisms of the war in Gaza and Democratic leaders have become more commonplace within the party, and she claims to have the \u201cmoral authority\u201d in the rematch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that they\u2019re necessarily scared of me. They\u2019re scared of what comes with me. They\u2019re scared of y\u2019all,\u201d Bush told an audience of pro-Palestinian activists, Black Lives Matter organizers and democratic socialists who had traveled from across the country to canvass for her in the summer heat. Some held portable fans or poured water on themselves to cool off as they listened to hours of speeches by Bush\u2019s allies near St. Louis\u2019 landmark Gateway Arch.<\/p>\n While Bush was in the park, Bell met with senior citizens at a historic Black church. He has dismissed Bush’s attacks by arguing that he has been a more effective lawmaker, and he rallied with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday night, a sign of support from the Democratic establishment. <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not a serious candidate,\u201d Bell said in an interview. \u201cIn this election, the choices are clear. I wake up every day working for St. Louis, and the folks in St. Louis know that I\u2019m going to wake up working for them. And then we\u2019ve got an opponent, Cori, who wakes up thinking about Cori. And we\u2019ve seen it over and over. And that\u2019s why she was fired.\u201d<\/p>\n Early voting for the Aug. 4 primary began Tuesday, but the two candidates have been trading recriminations for months. They accuse each other of misconduct and impropriety. <\/p>\n Bush criticizes Bell over a lawsuit he’s facing from protestors who allege they were assaulted at his town hall last year, and a settlement over employment discrimination claims made by someone who worked in Bell’s office when he was a prosecutor. <\/p>\n Bell highlights a previous Justice Department investigation into Bush’s campaign spending, including how she paid her husband as part of her security detail. <\/p>\n Both candidates deny any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n AIPAC’s role has also drawn national attention to the district at a time when the organization, which advocates for a closer U.S.-Israeli relationship, has been a lightning rod within the Democratic Party. <\/p>\n \u201cCori is the knockout blow to AIPAC,\u201d said former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a close ally of Bush who was also defeated in 2024 by an AIPAC-backed primary challenger in a redrawn New York congressional district. Ahead of the recent rally, Bowman recorded a social media video last weekend calling on progressives \u201cfrom New York to California\u201d to help mobilize voters during early voting.<\/p>\n Deepening hostility toward Israel has spurred concern about antisemitism among some moderate Democrats and Jewish Americans, who believe anti-Israel rhetoric too often bleeds into prejudice. Bush’s recent event included some Jewish faith leaders who share her criticism of Israel, as well as others who echoed hateful tropes. <\/p>\n One former union leader, Jay Ozier, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a \u201cwar monger,” condemned the \u201cIsrael lobby buying elections\u201d and declared that “we need a representative who is willing to turn over the tables of the money changers.\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd, including Bush, applauded the remarks, and Ozier later defended by noting it was a biblical reference to Jesus chasing merchants out of the Jerusalem Temple. <\/p>\n Bush declined to directly address the comment about \u201cmoney changers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe condemn anti-Semitism. We condemn anti-Muslim hate, behavior and rhetoric at every chance we get,” Bush said in an interview. “But will Wesley Bell call out those who won\u2019t stand against anti-Muslim sentiment, even in our own community? Will he stand up and fight for the liberation of the Palestinian people?\u201d<\/p>\n AIPAC has spent more than $1.2 million against Bush this year through United Democracy Project, its political action committee, about the same as the group spent opposing her in 2024. New Democrat Majority, which backs moderate House Democrats, has spent an additional $1 million against Bush. <\/p>\n \u201cShe was a terrible, ineffective member of Congress who didn\u2019t deliver for St. Louis. We were happy to see her go,\u201d said Patrick Dorton, spokesperson for United Democracy Project.<\/p>\n Bell has emphasized his positions on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, and he has defended his support of military funding for Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important that we stand with our allies, and there\u2019s going to be times when we disagree and we work those out,\u201d Bell said. \u201cBut what we\u2019ve learned in Iraq, what we learned in Afghanistan, is that we can\u2019t do it alone. We need our allies and we also need to be transparent with the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n Many residents said their vote would hinge on how candidates had managed issues like procuring recovery funds for a tornado that devastated the St. Louis metropolitan area last year. There was also pervasive discomfort with the role of money in the race. <\/p>\n Allison Johnson said that she and her husband were divided over who to back in the Democratic primary. Her husband was more moderate and liked Bell\u2019s performance in office, but she was concerned about how AIPAC had \u201cdumped\u201d money into the district. <\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem like it should be big money should be influencing this race,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The primary is also dispiriting for some longtime residents, who watched both Bush and Bell rise as figures in the Black Lives Matter movement.<\/p>\n Bell was elected to the Ferguson city council and later prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the best person for the job. When he was on council, he and I worked together to get the police reform done,\u201d said Ella Jones, the former mayor of Ferguson and first Black person to hold the role in the city’s history.<\/p>\n Bush was a pastor turned activist and triage nurse in the wake of the 2014 Ferguson protests. She won her House seat on a promise to bring her maverick persona into the halls of Congress. <\/p>\n \u201cI like Cori, I think she is the best choice and has a clear commitment to St. Louis,” said DeRay McKesson, an activist who gained notoriety as a lead organizer during the 2014 protests in Ferguson. \u201cShe\u2019s not afraid to challenge power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n