Cori Bush, Progressive Missouri Challenger, Raises $170,000 In June
Daniel Marans
·4 min read
Cori Bush, a registered nurse challenging Rep. William “Lacy” Clay from the left in Missouri’s Democratic primary, raised nearly $240,000 in the second quarter, including $170,000 in June alone.
Bush’s strong fundraising haul marks a major improvement over her totals in the first 14 months of her candidacy, suggesting that she is picking up momentum ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. Bush had raised less than $260,000 in her entire campaign prior to the second quarter.
Bush, an ordained minister who got involved in politics as a Black Lives Matter activist after the police killing of Michael Brown in 2014, managed the sum during a tumultuous period in her life. She was hospitalized twice for COVID-19 in March and April, and continues to be active in St. Louis-area street demonstrations against racist policing. (Bush reported on Twitter on Sunday night that police in Florissant, Missouri, sprayed her in the eyes with pepper spray.)
“Whether I was in the hospital fighting COVID or in the streets fighting for justice, people all over St. Louis and the country have continued to invest in our campaign,” Bush said in a statement. “Voters want a true fighter in Congress ― that’s why we’ve raised half a million dollars purely from individual contributions from regular, everyday people.”
As is typical of progressive insurgent candidates, Bush’s donations have come almost entirely from small-dollar donors. Supporters donated about 12,000 times to her campaign in the second quarter, with an average contribution of $15.
Bush has plowed her fundraising dollars into a mail, digital and “connected TV” advertising campaign ― spots on streaming services like Hulu ― and retained $107,000 in cash on hand as of the end of June.
Cori Bush leads a march against police brutality on June 12 in University City, Missouri. For a second time, she is running to unseat Democratic Rep. William "Lacy" Clay. (Photo: Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Clay, a 10-term incumbent, has yet to disclose his second-quarter fundraising figures. (Election law requires them to become public on July 15.)
As of the end of March, Clay had raised nearly $630,000 and had more than $515,000 in cash on hand. That gives him a major cash advantage, but not an insurmountable edge of the kind typically boasted by entrenched incumbents. More than $500,000 of the money he raised through the end of March came from political action committees; 79% of those PACs were funded by big business interests.
While Clay checks many progressive boxes, he is not an advocate for independent progressive power in the House in the mold of the four-member “Squad” or California Rep. Ro Khanna. And he was behind the curve on police violence, voting against a June 2014 amendment that would have ended the transfer of military equipment to local police forces. The vote occurred mere months before Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked nationwide outrage at police use of Pentagon vehicles and weapons against protesters.
Bush, who lost to Clay by almost 20 percentage points in her 2018 run, is campaigning on a platform of Medicare for All, police demilitarization and reform, and the Green New Deal. She is backed by Justice Democrats, the left-wing group behind Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset victories, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose presidential runs Bush supported.
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), shoots a video selfie as he heads to the House floor for votes on March 4, 2015.
Giffords' Voice
Former Congresswoman and handgun violence survivor Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) speaks during a news conference about background checks for gun purchases at the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2015.
Netanyahu Speaks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he steps to the lectern prior to speaking before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 3, 2015. House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) applaud.
Netanyahu Speaks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves after speaking before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 3, 2015.
Twinning
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chuckles as she starts a news conference by donning dark glasses, a teasingly sympathetic gesture to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) as he recovers from a serious injury to his right eye, suffered while exercising at his Nevada home during the holidays. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Smooch
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) responds to reporters about the impasse over passing the Homeland Security budget because of Republican efforts to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration on Feb. 26, 2015, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Code Pink Targets Kerry
Code Pink protesters hold up a sign as Secretary of State John Kerry arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 25, 2015, to testify before a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
Cool Shades
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) (left) speaks as Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) listens during a news briefing after the weekly Senate Democratic Policy Luncheon on Feb. 24, 2015. Reid was wearing glasses following a recent eye surgery.
Space Socks
The socks of former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin are shown as he testifies before the Senate Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on Feb. 24, 2015.
Kerry Plots
Secretary of State John Kerry appears before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs on Feb. 24, 2015, to talk about fiscal year 2016 funding for the State Department.
Liberace In Washington
A cardboard cutout of Las Vegas star Liberace stands outside the office of Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) in the Cannon House Office Building on Feb. 18, 2015.
Workers Rally
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) attends a rally with labor groups, including the American Federation of Government Employees, in Upper Senate Park to support federal workers and the working class, on Feb. 10, 2015.
Senate Laughter
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) (3rd L) laughs as he talks to (L-R) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) before a news conference on currency and trade Feb. 10, 2015, on Capitol Hill.
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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) walks through the basement of the Capitol with a painting of former President Ronald Reagan by artist Steve Penley on Feb. 11, 2015. The painting will be added to Issa's collection of Reagan memorabilia.
Sad Speaker
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) holds his weekly press conference in the Capitol on Feb. 5, 2015.
Group Hug
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) gives a group hug to students from the Richard Wright Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., during his National School Choice Forum in the Hart Senate Office Building on Feb. 9, 2015.
Ukraine In Washington
Patriarch Filaret, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2015. Delegates from the Ukrainian Parliament joined members of the House of Representatives to appeal for lethal military aid from the U.S.
Back On The Hill
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) speaks to the media as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) listens, following the Senate Democrats' policy lunch on Feb. 3, 2015.
CodePink
The protest group CodePink disrupts a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, carrying banners calling former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger a "war criminal" as he and fellow former Secretary of States George Shultz and Madeleine Albright were set to testify on U.S. national security on Capitol Hill on Jan. 29, 2015.
Democratic Retreat
Naomi Sherman, 4, right, along with her father, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.); mother, Lisa; and sisters, Lucy, 2, and Molly, 5, prepares to board a bus that will take House Democrats and their families to a retreat in Philadelphia on Jan. 28, 2015.
Did You See That?
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), left, and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) talk before a news conference in the Capitol's Senate studio to "respond to the Obama administration's efforts to lock up millions of acres of the nation's richest oil and natural gas prospects on the Arctic coastal plain and move to block development of Alaska's offshore resources" on Jan. 26, 2015.
That's A Big Hammer
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), left, reacts as Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) brings out a giant gavel while making remarks during an executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22, 2015. Leahy ceremonially passed the gavel to Grassley who has taken up the chairmanship after the Republicans won the majority in the Senate.
State Of The Union Excitement
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) as senators arrive for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address in the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2015.
SOTU Selfie
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) takes a selfie with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) as Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) sits nearby before President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Jan. 20, 2015.
Hello, Mr. President
President Barack Obama, bottom right, is greeted by Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), center, as he arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Jan. 20, 2015.
Making His Point
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) holds a news conference on the budget on Jan. 16, 2015.
Searching The Senator
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and his wife, Laura, have their luggage inspected by a police dog before boarding a bus that will take Republican senators to a retreat in Hershey, Pa., January 14, 2015.
Retreating From Capitol Hill
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) walks by immigration protesters on his way to one of the buses outside the Rayburn House Office Building as House Republicans prepare to head to Hershey, Pa., for their retreat with Senate Republicans on Jan. 14, 2015.
Just A Joke
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) fools around with colleagues upon arriving for a news conference on Guantanamo detainees in the Senate studio on Jan. 13, 2015.
Oh Boy!
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on Jan. 13, 2015. House Democrats spoke about U.S. President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration.
Paying Off The Bet
From left, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) make symbols that spell "Ohio" on Jan. 13, 2015, as the result of a football bet. Ohio State beat the University of Oregon 42-20 in the NCAA national football championship.
Frustration
Cleanliness
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) sanitizes his hands while talking on his cell phone outside the Mansfield Room in the Capitol on Jan. 8, 2015.
Hats In The Hallways
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) walks with her family through the Will Rogers Hallway after the swearing-in of the 114th Congress on the House floor on Jan. 6, 2015.
Baby Face
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) holds Andrea Elena Castro, daughter of Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), second from right, before the 114th Congress was sworn in on the House floor of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2015.
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