Cori Bush

Cori Bush
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 1st district
In office
January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2025
Preceded byLacy Clay
Succeeded byWesley Bell
Personal details
Born (1976-07-21) July 21, 1976 (age 50)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Cortney Merritts
​
(m. 2023)​
Children2
EducationHarris-Stowe State University
Lutheran School of Nursing
Bush's voice
Bush supporting the Equal Rights Amendment.
Recorded March 27, 2023

Cori Anika Bush (born July 21, 1976) is an American politician, registered nurse, pastor, and activist. Bush was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri's 1st congressional district from 2021 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

On August 4, 2020, she beat 10-term incumbent Lacy Clay in the 2020 U.S. House of Representatives primary election. She won the general election in November 2020. Bush is the first African American woman to represent Missouri in the United States Congress.

In 2024, she lost her re-election campaign for the Democratic nomination to Wesley Bell. Pro-Israel lobbying groups in the U.S. had spent large amounts to defeat Bush because of her pro-Palestine views during the Gaza war.

Early life

Bush was born on July 21, 1976, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, Errol Bush, is an alderman and former mayor in Northwoods, Missouri. In the summer of 1994, at 18 years old, Bush became pregnant after being raped and had an abortion. A year later, she had a second abortion when she was 19 years old.

Bush studied at Harris–Stowe State University for one year and worked at a preschool until 2001. She earned a Diploma in Nursing from the Lutheran School of Nursing in 2008.

U.S. House of Representatives

Soon after being sworn in, Bush was seen as a member of "The Squad", an informal left-wing grouping in the Democratic caucus. She posted a photo on Twitter of herself, the four original Squad members, and another new member, Jamaal Bowman, with the caption "Squad up."

During her time in congress, Bush had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 93.0% of the time.

Personal life

Bush lives in St. Louis, Missouri. She has two children and has been married twice.

In February 2023, Bush married Cortney Merritts, a security specialist and U.S. Army veteran.

References

  1. ↑ @CoriBush (July 21, 2020). "Today I'm celebrating my 44th birthday!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Meet Cori Bush, the Ferguson Activist Vying to Be Missouri's First Black Congresswoman". July 31, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Cori Bush, a Nurse and Activist, Becomes the First Black Woman to Represent Missouri in Congress". The New Yorker. November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  4. ↑ Salter, Jim (2024-08-06). "Wesley Bell defeats 'Squad' member Cori Bush. A pro-Israel group spent $8.5 million to help oust her". AP News. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  5. ↑ "Bush, Cori". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ Gibson, Brittany (2020-07-20). "Cori Bush Seeks to Be a Congresswoman Organizer". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. ↑ "The Board | City of Northwoods". Archived from the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  8. ↑ "Our Campaigns – Candidate – Errol S. Bush". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  9. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (2021-09-30). "A Congresswoman's Story: Raped at 17, 'I Chose to Have an Abortion'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  10. ↑ Smith, David; @smithinamerica (2022-10-29). "'I'm changing Congress': how Cori Bush brought her lived experience to Capitol Hill". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  11. ↑ Slodysko, Brian; Salter, Jim (August 4, 2021). "For Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, the eviction fight is personal". Associated Press. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Pastor Cori Bush Activist". Conscious Campus. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  13. ↑ "Cori Bush's Biography". VoteSmart. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ Caldwell, Leigh Ann; Meyer, Theodoric; Dent, Alec (2024-06-25). "Analysis | Bowman's primary resurfaces Democratic divisions". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-06-25. Bowman, a member of the far-left 'Squad,' has
  15. ↑ Barkan, Ross (2023-02-22). "'The Democratic Party in New York Is a Disaster'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-25. Jamaal Bowman, a Westchester County congressman and a member of the Squad, the prominent group of far-left members of Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
  16. ↑ "Bowman slams AIPAC in final debate with Latimer". Punchbowl News. June 19, 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-25. Bowman is embracing underdog status in his competitive primary against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is seeking to be the first mainstream Democrat to knock off a member of the far-left Squad.
  17. ↑ Sotomayor, Marianna; Caldwell, Leigh Ann (2024-08-05). "Why St. Louis voters might ditch Cori Bush". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  18. ↑ @CoriBush (January 3, 2021). "Squad up" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ↑ Wiederkehr, Anna; Bycoffe, Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  20. ↑ Gibson, Brittany (July 20, 2020). "Cori Bush Seeks to Be a Congresswoman Organizer". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Congresswoman Cori Bush of St. Louis marries member of campaign security team". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 27, 2023. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023. (Archive has free access.)

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