OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:30 PM – Friday, October 3, 2025
Former U.S. Representative Cori Bush, a member of the liberal “Squad,” announced her campaign to return to Congress.
Bush previously served two terms as a U.S. Representative for Missouri’s first congressional district, and seeks to reclaim her seat after losing to current U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) in the 2024 Democrat primary.
Bush announced the launch of her campaign on Friday in an X post, featuring a video along with the caption, “St. Louis deserves a leader who is built different. That’s why I’m running to represent Missouri’s 1st District in Congress. We need a fighter who will lower costs, protect our communities, and make life fairer. I’ll be that fighter.”
Bush also released an accompanying statement, explaining why Missouri needs a leader who is “ten toes down.”
“Right now, we are in the fight of our lives. It isn’t politics as usual, and we can’t afford to operate as such. This is about survival for our families, and the moment is now,” Bush stated. “I’m running because Missouri’s First deserves leadership that’s built different. A leader who doesn’t just navigate a broken system, but works to build a better one. A leader who shows up when it’s hardest, who fights for all people, who unifies us with courage, resilience, and love. A leader rooted in the community, lifting the voices too often dismissed, and proving what’s possible when you fight for everyone. That’s who I’ve always been — ten toes down for this district.”
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Bush previously lost to Bell in 2024 by roughly 6,800 votes.
Meanwhile, Bell responded to Bush’s announcement, stating that “the people of this district fired Cori Bush because of her absence in the district and her failure to stand up for the Democratic agenda, not the mention the personal and legal troubles that continue to plague her.”
Bell’s comments were in reference to a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Bush’s alleged misuse of campaign funds for private security services, which focused on payments made to her husband for his role on her security team. After months of review, the complaint was ultimately dismissed.
Bush previously attributed her loss to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the super PAC that spent at least $8.6 million to unseat Bush, which was largely due to her critical stance regarding Israel’s war in Gaza.
In her latest campaign launch video, Bush stated that she lost her last election “because I spoke truth, they pushed back, attacked my name, my motives, spread lies and hate.”
Bush burst onto the scene in 2021 after defeating then-Democrat Rep. William Lacy Clay to become the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri.
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