M0-01: Cori Bush (D)
PROFILE
About Bush:
Cori Bush, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is the Democratic nominee for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
On Aug. 4, 2020, she defeated 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in the 2020 U.S. House of Representatives primary election, advancing to the November general election in the solidly Democratic congressional district.
If elected, Bush will be the first African-American woman to serve in the House from Missouri. She previously ran for the same House seat in 2018, and two years prior to that ran for the U.S. Senate.
Bush was born in St. Louis on July 21, 1976, and she attended local public schools and Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School. She studied at Harris–Stowe State University for one year before earning a graduate diploma in nursing from the Lutheran School of Nursing.
In 2011, Bush established the Kingdom Embassy International church in St. Louis. Her interest in politics began after the 2014 Ferguson unrest, where she worked as a triage nurse and organizer. She said she was assaulted by police, as she was hit by an officer, but was not arrested.
In 2018, Bush launched a primary campaign against incumbent Democratic representative Lacy Clay in Missouri’s 1st congressional district. Described as an “insurgent” candidate, Bush was endorsed by Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats.
Along with other progressive candidates, she was featured in the Netflix documentary “Knock Down the House,” including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated a 10-term incumbent congressman in her 2018 primary victory.
Bush describes herself as a progressive Democrat, supporting policies such as criminal justice and police reform, abortion rights, Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, tuition-free state college and trade school, and canceling student debt.
