Seems like just a few days ago, there were no challengers to U.S. Rep. Cori Bush.
Now, the incumbent Ƶ Democrat has one official opponent: Ƶ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who pulled out of the 2024 U.S. Senate primary to oppose Bush.
But Bell’s hat may not be the only one headed into the 1st Congressional District ring.
As political pundits toss out names of other potential challengers, the name on most insiders’ lips is that of , D-University City. Williams was elected to the state senate in 2018.
Before going to Jefferson City, Williams worked for six years in the local office chief of former U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, who was upset by Bush in 2020.
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Several sources said that before Bush surprisingly took the seat from Clay, Democratic Party plans had been laid to have Williams run for that congressional seat after Clay retired.
Williams’ eventual intentions officially remain in question, as he was unavailable Wednesday for comment.
To be sure, Williams has close ties with the district’s Jewish community — a group that is expected to be a major player in the upcoming election.
Bush’s recent statements about the Israel-Hamas conflict have been pilloried by some pro-Israel factions as being antisemitic. She already has drawn fire from the Anti-Defamation League and AIPAC, a powerful and well-funded pro-Israel lobbying group.
In early 2022, Williams led a program about the Rev. Martin Luther King that was presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Ƶ.
Later that year, he was recognized at the opening of the Jewish Federation’s Holocaust Museum for sponsoring laws that set aside one week in Missouri schools to teach students about the Holocaust.
Williams also has visited Israel, as a state senator-elect and then again in 2022, as part of a trade mission led by Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican.
The importance of Jewish voters was not lost on Bell, who made clear that Israel, and not Hamas, was an ally of the U.S., and that “we have to stand with our allies.”
On Wednesday, Bell’s run against Bush picked up an endorsement from of the Central Reform Congregation, the only Jewish congregation in Ƶ city.
But it only took Bell’s entry to rally Bush supporters around the hashtag #TeamCori on social media.
In that group is Ƶ Aldermanic President Megan E. Green, who took to social media shortly after Bell’s announcement to declare her allegiance: “Today is a great day to state I’m #teamcori all the way,” she posted.
Today is a great day to state I’m all the way.
— Dr. Megan Ellyia Green 🌹 (@MeganEllyia)
Ƶ Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Ƶ County Executive Sam Page have remained silent to this point on who they officially endorse in a race for Bush’s seat.