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Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., announced on Friday that she is mounting a comeback congressional bid more than a year after losing her Democratic primary to a more moderate challenger.
“St. Louis deserves a leader who is built different,” Bush announced in a video shared on social media. “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.”
The “Squad” member was ousted in the Democratic primary in Aug. 2024 by St. Louis County prosecutor Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., who is a more moderate candidate and had the backing of pro-Israel groups that spent millions to unseat Bush.
“I ran for Congress to change things for regular people,” Bush said in the campaign launch video. “I’m running again because St. Louis deserves leadership that doesn’t wait for permission, doesn’t answer to wealthy donors and doesn’t hide when things get tough.”
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Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., delivers her concession speech during a primary election watch party on Aug. 6, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Bush was first elected to Congress in Nov. 2020, quickly joining the ranks of the progressive “Squad,” including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who were elected in 2018.
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The Missouri progressive was re-elected in 2022, but she became the second member of the “Squad” to lose her Democratic primary last year after Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., also lost to a more moderate pro-Israel Democrat.
Like Bowman, Bush had emerged in Congress as a vocal critic of the United States’ ties to Israel, calling Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack a “war crime” for “Israel’s collective punishment against Palestinians.”
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., speaks at a “Veterans Demand Ceasefire” rally in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9, 2023. (Fox News Digital)
“All across America, we see it,” Bush said. “Our rights rolled back, our history being rewritten, our lives on the line. The stakes for our community here have never been higher. I’m running because our district deserves someone ten toes down. For our families, for our wallets, for our safety, for our democracy, and for our bright future. St. Louis is built different, so am I, and so are we.”
Soon after President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Bush teased a congressional run to POLITICO.
“The Squad will keep fighting,” she told the outlet. “The numbers will be lower for the 119th Congress, but they will keep fighting for people who have the greatest need. They’re not going to change their priorities and what they believe. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they’ve never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I’m not going far.”
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., delivers her concession speech during a primary election watch party at Chevre Events on Aug. 6, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
While the country shifted to the right in 2024, with Republicans securing control of the White House and Congress, the upcoming midterm elections will prove a litmus test for Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda.
And Bush’s announcement comes as Republicans secured victories in their redistricting battles, picking up five additional Republican-leaning districts in Texas and one additional conservative-leaning congressional seat in Missouri.
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Gov. Mike Kehoe, R-Mo., signed Missouri’s new map into law on Sunday as California Democrats seek to level the playing field with their own redistricting efforts.
Bell’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
