Cori Bush | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Lacy Clay |
| Succeeded by | Wesley Bell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cori Anika Bush (1976-07-21)July 21, 1976 (age 49) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harris-Stowe State University Lutheran School of Nursing (DipN) |
Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976)[1] is an American politician, nurse, pastor, andBlack Lives Matter activist who served as theU.S. representative forMissouri's 1st congressional district from 2021 to 2025.[2][3] The district includes all of the city ofSt. Louis and most of northernSt. Louis County.
A member of theDemocratic Party, Bush defeated 10-term incumbentLacy Clay in a2020 U.S. House of Representatives primary election primarily viewed as an upset, advancing to the November general election in a solidly Democratic congressional district. Bush is the first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri. She ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the district in2018 and the2016 U.S. Senate election in Missouri. Bush was featured in the 2019Netflix relateddocumentary filmKnock Down the House, which covered her first primary challenge to Clay. Bush was a member of the group known as "the Squad" in the U.S. House.[4]
In August 2024, Bush lost the Democratic nomination for her seat to aprimary challenger in a race described as having "received outsize attention", with politicianWesley Bell winning (45.6% vs. 51.1%).[5] Pro-Israellobbying groups in the U.S. had spent large amounts to defeat Bush in the context of her positions on theGaza war.[6][7]
Bush was born on July 21, 1976, inSt. Louis and graduated fromCardinal Ritter College Prep High School in 1994.[8] Her father, Errol Bush, is analderman inNorthwoods, Missouri, and previously served as mayor.[9][10][11] In the summer of 1994, at 18 years old, Bush became pregnant after being raped and had an abortion.[12] A year later, she had a second abortion when she was 19 years old.[13]
Bush studied atHarris–Stowe State University for one year (1995–96)[14] and worked at a preschool until 2001.[15] She earned aDiploma in Nursing from theLutheran School of Nursing in 2008.[14][15][16]
In 2011, Bush established the Kingdom Embassy International Church inSt. Louis, Missouri, and served as its pastor until 2014.[15][16] She became a political activist during the 2014Ferguson unrest,[15] during which she worked as atriage nurse and organizer, where she said that a police officer hit her.[17] Bush is a Nonviolence 365 Ambassador with theKing Center for Nonviolent Social Change.[17]
Bush was a candidate for the2016 United States Senate election in Missouri. In the Democratic primary, she placed a distant second toSecretary of StateJason Kander. Kander narrowly lost the election to incumbent RepublicanRoy Blunt.[18][19]
In 2018, Bush launched a primary campaign against incumbent Democratic representativeLacy Clay inMissouri's 1st congressional district. Described as an "insurgent" candidate, Bush was endorsed byBrand New Congress andJustice Democrats.[20] Her campaign was featured in theNetflix documentaryKnock Down the House, alongside those ofAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez,Amy Vilela, andPaula Jean Swearengin.[21][22] Clay defeated Bush 56.7% to 36.9%.[23]
In 2020, Bush ran against Clay again.[24][3][25] She was endorsed byprogressive organizations, includingJustice Democrats,Sunrise Movement, andBrand New Congress, and she received personal endorsements from Vermont senatorBernie Sanders, NY-16 Democratic nomineeJamaal Bowman,[26][27] formerOhio state senatorNina Turner,[28] activistAngela Davis,[28] andWest Virginia Democratic Senate nomineePaula Jean Swearengin.[29]
Bush narrowly defeated Clay in the primary election in what was widely seen as anupset.[30] Bush received 48.5% of the vote, winningSt. Louis City and narrowly losing suburbanSt. Louis County. Her primary victory was consideredtantamount to election in the heavily Democratic district.[31] Her primary win ended the Clay family's 52-year hold on the district. Clay's father,Bill, won the seat in 1968 and was succeeded by his son in 2000.[32][33][34] The district and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1911. No Republican has received more than 40% in the district since the late 1940s. With aCook Partisan Voting Index of D+29, it is easily the most Democratic district in Missouri and tied for the 23rd-most Democratic district in the country.
As expected, Bush won the general election, defeating Republican Anthony Rogers with 78 percent of the vote.
In 2022, Bush ran for reelection to the seat. She was challenged bySteve Roberts,state senator, who received support from previous representative Lacy Clay. Bush won the Democratic primary with almost 70% of the vote.[35]
In 2024, Bush ran for reelection to the seat. On August 6, 2024, Bush lost the Democratic primary toWesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney ofSt. Louis County.[5] The primary was the second most-expensive House primary in history, with $9 million in spending against Bush from United Democracy Project,AIPAC's super PAC.[36][37] The organization targeted Bush after her criticism of Israel during theGaza war.[38][7] Bush was the second member ofthe Squad defeated in a Democratic primary in 2024 followingGeorge Latimer's defeat ofJamaal Bowman.[39]
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Soon after being sworn in, Bush was associated with "The Squad", an informal left-wing grouping in the Democratic caucus.[40][41][42][43] She posted a photo onTwitter of herself, the four original Squad members, and another new member, Bowman, with the caption "Squad up."[44]
On January 6, 2021, hours afterrioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to overturnDonald Trump's loss toJoe Biden in the2020 election, Bush introduced a resolution to remove every Republican who supportedattempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election from the House of Representatives.[45] In her support forTrump's second impeachment, Bush called the attack on the Capitol a "white supremacist insurrection" incited by the "white supremacist-in-chief".[46]
In August 2021, Bush took a leading role in fighting to extend theCARES Act's eviction moratorium, sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to make her point; the CDC extended the moratorium on August 3.[15][47][48][49]
On August 5, 2021, Bush defended spending tens of thousands of dollars on personal security for herself as a member of Congress while also saying Democrats shoulddefund the police, saying, "I get to be here to do the work, so suck it up—and defunding the police has to happen. We need to defund the police."[50][51][52] On November 5, 2021, Bush was one of six House Democrats to break with their party and vote with a majority of Republicans against theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act because it was not accompanied by theBuild Back Better Act.[53]
In 2022, Bush secured $750,000 in Community Project Funding for expansions to theUrban League facilities in North St. Louis, as well as funding for other area service organizations.[54]
As of July 2022, Bush had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 93.0% of the time.[55]
Bush was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of theFiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[56]
Following Bush's introduction of aceasefire resolution in 2023, St. Louis County ProsecutorWesley Bell announced his candidacy against her for the following election. Reports indicated thatAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has marked her and other members of "the Squad" for "high dollar challengers."[57] Co-founder forLinkedIn, billionaireReid Hoffman, also expressed intentions to fund opponents of both Bush and Tlaib.[58]
On January 30, 2024, Bush confirmed reports that she was under investigation by theU.S. Department of Justice andFederal Election Commission for alleged misuse of federal security money.[59][60] Bush also claimed theOffice of Congressional Ethics had previously investigated the same allegations and voted unanimously to dismiss the case after finding no evidence of wrongdoing.[60]
For the 2024 fiscal year, Bush secured over $13 million in federal earmarks to fund projects in the St. Louis area, including emergency food and shelter services and redevelopment for a housing complex. Total federal funds to Missouri were reduced from previous cycles as neither Missouri senator requested funds.[61]
In September 2021, Bush was one of eight Democrats to vote against the funding of Israel'sIron Dome missile defense system.[62]
She condemned theOctober 7 attacks.[63] On October 16, 2023, Bush introduced a resolution calling for a ceasefire in theGaza war.[64][65] She condemned Israel'sbombing of the Gaza Strip thatkilled thousands of Palestinian civilians inGaza.[66]
Bush and congressional allies, including SenatorRoy Blunt, successfully advocated for theFederal Transit Administration Climate Relief Fund. According to Bush, "that fund was going to have zero dollars in it" to repair damage to public transit systems from severe storms and flooding in 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Bush threatened to withhold her vote for the budget if FTA funds were not included.[67]
For the118th Congress:[68]
Bush is aprogressive Democrat, supporting policies such asdefunding the police;[50][51][52]criminal justice andpolice reform;abortion rights;Medicare for All; a $15minimum wage;tuition-free state college and trade school; and canceling student debt.[71] She was endorsed by, and is a member of, theDemocratic Socialists of America.[72][73] Bush supports theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement[74] and has calledIsrael an "apartheid state".[75] She stands "unwaveringly with Black Lives Matter's demands".[25]
Bush advocated defunding theUnited States Armed Forces during her campaign. After receiving criticism from California RepresentativeKevin McCarthy and aSt. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial, Bush clarified that she supported reallocating defense funding to healthcare and low-income communities.[76]
After supporters of then-president Donald Trumpstormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Bush introduced a resolution to investigate and expel members of the House who promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. On January 29, after House SpeakerNancy Pelosi accepted her request, Bush changed offices from theLongworth House Office Building after CongresswomanMarjorie Taylor Greene "berated" her and her staff in a hallway and refused to wear a mask. Greene accused Bush of calling for violence against a couple involved in the controversial July 2020march through a gated St. Louis street.[77]
On July 18, 2023, she was one of nine progressive Democrats to vote against acongressionalnon-binding resolution proposed byAugust Pfluger, which states that "the State of Israel is not aracist orapartheid state", that Congress rejects "all forms of antisemitism andxenophobia" and that "the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel."[78] Bush introduced theCeasefire Now Resolution in Congress on October 16, 2023, with that measure calling for a ceasefire as well as increased humanitarian aid during theGaza war.[79][80]
Bush lives inSt. Louis, Missouri. She has two children and has been married twice.[81] In 2001, Bush, her husband at the time, and young children lived in theirFord Explorer for about three months after being evicted from a rental home. At the time, Bush had lost income because illness during her second pregnancy made it necessary for her to quit her job at a preschool.[15][82] In February 2023, Bush married Cortney Merritts, a security specialist andU.S. Army veteran.[83] Bush's husband was charged with two counts ofwire fraud for allegedly accepting $20,000 in payments from the COVID eraPaycheck Protection Program, falsifying details about his purported businesses to obtain loans from theSmall Business Administration in both 2020 and 2021.[84]
In May 2021, Bush testified to theHouse Oversight and Reform Committee that during her first pregnancy, she informed her doctor of severe pain but was ignored, and as a result, went intopre-term labor. She attributed this to "harsh andracist treatment" that Black women face during pregnancy and childbirth.[85] In a subsequent tweet, she wrote, "Every day, Black birthing people and our babies die because our doctors don't believe our pain."[86][87]
In a 2022 interview with thePBS news programThe Firing Line withMargaret Hoover, Bush recounted a story from her biography about healing ahomeless woman withtumors. She stated, "This lady came to us and she had these tumors. She wanted us to feel them" adding that as soon as she touched them, "The lumps that were there were no longer there and she was so happy and she went on about her day". When asked for her response to people who might not believe her story, Bush explained "they are not the woman that had the tumors".[88][89][90]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jason Kander | 223,492 | 69.9 | |
| Democratic | Cori Bush | 42,453 | 13.3 | |
| Democratic | Chief Wana Dubie | 30,432 | 9.5 | |
| Democratic | Robert Mack | 23,509 | 7.4 | |
| Total votes | 319,886 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lacy Clay (incumbent) | 81,426 | 56.7 | |
| Democratic | Cori Bush | 53,056 | 36.9 | |
| Democratic | Joshua Shipp | 4,959 | 3.5 | |
| Democratic | DeMarco K. Davidson | 4,229 | 2.9 | |
| Total votes | 143,670 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cori Bush | 73,274 | 48.5 | |
| Democratic | Lacy Clay (incumbent) | 68,887 | 45.6 | |
| Democratic | Katherine Bruckner | 8,850 | 5.9 | |
| Total votes | 151,011 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cori Bush | 249,087 | 78.7 | |
| Republican | Anthony Rogers | 59,940 | 18.9 | |
| Libertarian | Alex Furman | 6,766 | 2.1 | |
| Write-in | 378 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 316,171 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cori Bush (incumbent) | 65,326 | 69.5 | |
| Democratic | Steve Roberts | 25,015 | 26.6 | |
| Democratic | Michael Daniels | 1,683 | 1.8 | |
| Democratic | Ron Harshaw | 1,065 | 1.1 | |
| Democratic | Earl Childress | 929 | 1.0 | |
| Total votes | 94,018 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cori Bush (incumbent) | 160,999 | 72.86 | |
| Republican | Andrew Jones | 53,767 | 24.33 | |
| Libertarian | George A. Zsidisin | 6,192 | 2.80 | |
| Total votes | 220,958 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Wesley Bell | 63,340 | 51.16 | |
| Democratic | Cori Bush (incumbent) | 56,492 | 45.62 | |
| Democratic | Maria Chappelle-Nadal | 3,257 | 2.63 | |
| Democratic | Ron Harshaw | 730 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 123,819 | 100.0 | ||
Bush refuses all corporate PAC money and is endorsed by progressive leaders like Angela Davis, Nina Turner, and Shaun King.
Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearingen have all thrown their support behind the openly socialist 2020 candidate, Bernie Sanders 2020 announced on Twitter on Saturday. "Thank you @CoriBush, @paulajean2020, and @amy4thepeople for endorsing our campaign! Together we can defeat Donald Trump and finally create a government that works for everyone in this country," the tweet read.
Bowman, a member of the far-left 'Squad,' has
Jamaal Bowman, a Westchester County congressman and a member of the Squad, the prominent group of far-left members of Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
Bowman is embracing underdog status in his competitive primary against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is seeking to be the first mainstream Democrat to knock off a member of the far-left Squad.
"Cori Bush has always been sympathetic to the BDS movement, and she stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people just as they have stood in solidarity with Black Americans fighting for their own lives," her campaign said in a statement on Saturday.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMissouri's 1st congressional district 2021–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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