U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell won Tuesday's Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st Congressional District, defeating former Rep. Cori Bush in the state's costliest primary race this year. The Associated Press called the race shortly after 8 p.m. Bell will advance to the general election in the heavily Democratic district, where he is expected to face either Paul Berry III or Andrew Jones from the Republican primary, as well as Libertarian candidate Tom Schmitz.

Both candidates rose to prominence following the 2014 Ferguson protests. In recent years, their paths diverged sharply over Israel and Palestine: Bell has emerged as a strong supporter of Israel, while Bush became one of Congress' most vocal advocates for Palestinian causes.

Bell's pro-Israel stance drew substantial financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and allied political action committees, enabling his campaign to significantly outpace Bush's spending. The race attracted roughly $8.4 million in total spending from candidates and outside groups, with approximately $7.2 million supporting Bell.

Bell's campaign spent nearly $3 million overall, including about $864,000 on television advertising. Bush's campaign spent nearly $1.2 million, with only about $66,400 on broadcast ads. AIPAC invested approximately $3.1 million on Bell's behalf, including roughly $1.5 million in television advertising through its affiliated United Democracy Project. New Democrat Majority added approximately $1.1 million supporting Bell.

AIPAC and allied groups had spent more than $8 million backing Bell during the 2024 cycle as part of a broader effort to defeat Congress' strongest critics of Israel. Bell was among AIPAC's largest-supported candidates nationwide.

Bell defended the organization, telling The Independent in June: "What they focus on is a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the current (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not a fan at all, but what I know about that group is that no matter who's in charge, they're going to support a strong US-Israeli relationship."

Bell serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He said his primary focus remains his district's needs: "We have to focus on regional growth and development, because I believe this region is a sleeping giant."