Outgoing Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said she is open to mounting another run for office in the future. In the meantime, the two-term lawmaker will organize and work on the same issues she focused on long before she stepped foot on Capitol Hill.
“The possibilities are endless. All I know right now is that I am not going anywhere. I’m going to keep fighting for the issues that I fought for before I ever entered Congress, and since I’ve been in Congress,” Bush said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine that was published on Wednesday.
“Running for office again is not off the table at all. I did not expect to only be in Congress for four years, and so I do believe at some point I will run again, whether it’s for Congress or something else, I don’t know,” she added.
The progressive Democrat said “I don’t have any plans right now, but it’s not off the table. What I will do, though, is I will organize and I will work on the same issues and more that I started with before I ever made it to the Congress.”
Bush, who represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District in the House, failed to secure a third term on Capitol Hill. She was defeated in the primary by St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell in early August. The race saw a massive influx of spending by outside groups, with pro-Israel organizations spending the most in the contest against Bush who has been critical of Israel’s war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The loss was another blow to the progressive “squad” in Congress as Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was unseated by Westchester County executive George Latimer (D) in late June.
Both Bush and Bowman joined the “Squad” after winning their respective House races in 2020. Following their primary losses four years later, the group’s numbers are on the downturn. Regardless, Bush argued the remaining “Squad” lawmakers in Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), will keep “fighting for people who have the greatest need.”
“The Squad will keep fighting. First of all, the Squad is big. And I know we want to make the Squad just out to be a few people, but we don’t do this work by ourselves,” the racial justice activist said.
“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,” Bush said. “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.”
