ST. LOUIS—One of the last remaining political endorsements with the potential to carry significant weight in the three-way Democratic primary for Missouri’s first congressional district will come off the board next week.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones confirmed Wednesday that next week she will announce her support for one of the three candidates in the race, Rep. Cori Bush, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell or former State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal.
The winner in the primary is widely expected to win the November general election in a district that demographically favors Democrats.
Jones and Bush are longtime political allies, and Jones has done little to distance herself publicly from Bush despite controversy surrounding Bush’s rhetoric opposing U.S. support for Israel and her longtime criticism of the Israeli government’s policy on Gaza. Bush has also denied allegations made as part of an FBI investigation into her campaign’s spending on security.
The home stretch of the Missouri primary will likely draw national attention after Tuesday’s primary defeat of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY. Bowman, like Bush, is a member of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, and was also challenged by a candidate, in this case Westchester County Executive George Latimer, backed by the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
AIPAC has thrown its support behind Bell. Without naming him specifically, Bush has suggested AIPAC, which has both Democratic and Republican donors and supports candidates in both parties, is using Bell to buy the race.
“St. Louis will not be silenced or sold out. We will rise up, louder and stronger than ever to show that our voices, our votes, and our values are not for sale,” Bush said in a statement Wednesday.
It’s unclear if other members of “The Squad” will head for Missouri in the remaining weeks of the campaign to help Bush. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared with Bush in Wentzville last year during the UAW strike at the GM plant there. Ocasio Cortez said the New York result underscored the need to have a larger conversation about the role of money in politics.
“My hope is that everyday people can see what is happening for what it is, and rally even just on the basis of principle, that we should reject the influence of this kind of money in an election just on that fact alone,” she told reporters Wednesday in Washington.
“Cori Bush is desperate to talk about anything other than how she has failed the people of Missouri's 1st congressional district. Wesley is a progressive champion who will work with, not against, President Biden on delivering his agenda," a Bell campaign spokesperson said Wednesday night.
"Tuesday's election in New York CD-16 should be a clear sign that voters want coherent, participatory and accountable representatives that reflect their district,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “Although Trump Republicans are donating to Wesley Bell in the same way as Mr. Latimer in New York, Cori has not raised the bar at this critical juncture. Her weakness is on full display right now.”
Jones’ backing could be one of the last consequential endorsements left in the race.
The AFL-CIO of Missouri has already decided it would not endorse a candidate in the race. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said he would not endorse in the primary.