ST. LOUIS — When U.S. Rep. Cori Bush took the stage at her campaign’s watch party Tuesday after voting results showed she had lost her seat, she did not give a traditional concession speech.
She blasted her opposition, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and his allies, as “weak.â€
She blasted the national pro-Israel lobby, which staked Bell with more than $10 million in campaign cash because of Bush’s criticism of the war in Gaza, and said she was “coming for their kingdom.â€
And just when it seemed like she might be pivoting — saying she hoped Bell would address the concerns of all of his future constituents, and promising that she would remain committed to her community work and values — she instead offered this:
“ºüÀêÊÓƵ, serving as your Congress member has been the joy of my life,†she said. “And I’m not done yet.
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“It’s just that now, I’m about to be outside.â€
The defiant tone and fighting words sounded less like the end of a campaign than the beginning. They even raised eyebrows in Washington, where White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Bush’s remarks about coming after the pro-Israel lobby
A campaign spokesperson would not on Wednesday elaborate on the speech, and did not answer a question about whether Bush has plans to run for Congress again in 2026, when Bell would face reelection.
But the idea seemed possible to at least some in the audience.
“Sometimes you come back bigger and better,†said ºüÀêÊÓƵ Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, of downtown.
“I wouldn’t count Cori out for coming back in two years,†said Aldermanic President Megan Green.
Green noted that Friday marks the 10-year anniversary of the killing of Black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, which sparked weeks of protests where Bush was on the frontlines.
Green said many in the progressive Democratic movement birthed by those protests feel like Bell has stabbed them in the back.
It was progressive organizers who helped Bell win his current job, besting Robert McCulloch, the prosecutor who declined to charge the officer who shot Brown. And many were furious when Bell turned around last year and challenged Bush.
“I think the sentiments from a lot of movement folks is that he’s got two years to prove that he didn’t stab the movement in the back,†Green said. “If he can’t prove that in two years, I think it’s very likely we see a rematch.â€
Mike Jones, a longtime operative and current advisor to ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page, cautioned against reading too much into Bush’s words.
“I think it’s somebody who’s terribly hurt, disappointed in the moment,†he said. “I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in that.â€
Richard Callow, another longtime operative and current advisor to Green and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, said he wouldn’t either.
Bush, he added, had good reason to be frustrated after outside interests spent a nearly unprecedented amount of money to oust her. And she has long seemed more comfortable in her district than in Washington.
“But,†Callow wrote in a text message, “I think the promise to ‘expect her’ is a sincere one and exactly what her base wants.
“I don’t know if she will run again, but I do know that definitely wasn’t a concession speech,†he continued. “Its central promise was that Cori would keep being Cori. That should worry some people.â€