Wesley Bell Drops Senate Bid to Challenge Cori Bush

Bell had already surprised Missouri when he announced his run for U.S. Senate in June

Oct 30, 2023 at 11:54 am

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DANNY WICENTOWSKI

Wesley Bell.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has dropped his bid for U.S. Senate to run for Congress against Representative Cori Bush.

In a statement Monday, Bell said he intended to run for senate because he felt "our future as a democracy was in peril" after Hawley "long abandoned Democratic principles" — but he's now feeling a call to a different role.

"Over the last several weeks, as I've campaigned around the state, I've heard one refrain from Democrats above all else: yes, we need you in Washington, but St. Louis needs you in the House of Representatives," he said.

Bell now faces a far different opponent than Hawley. Both Bell and Bush, a staunch progressive in the House and member "The Squad," rose to political prominence through activism during the Ferguson unrest. And both defeated long-time incumbents.

Bush defeated 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in 2020 and more recently trounced State Senator Steve Roberts in a landslide primary last summer.

Bell was elected as St. Louis County Prosecutor in 2018 after trumping long-time incumbent Bob McCulloch. Bell's first ascent to public office was in 2015, when he won a seat on the Ferguson City Council.

State Senator Karla May and veteran Lucas Kunce are now the two most prominent candidates vying for the Democratic party's nomination for U.S. Senate.