Wesley Bell

Wesley Bell
Official House portrait of Bell smiling in front of the U.S. flag, wearing a black suit, white shirt, and light green plaid tie.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 1st district
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byCori Bush
Prosecuting Attorney of St. Louis County
In office
January 1, 2019 – January 3, 2025
Preceded byBob McCulloch
Succeeded byMelissa Price Smith
Personal details
Born
Wesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell

(1974-11-05) November 5, 1974 (age 51)
St. Louis County, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Education
WebsiteHouse website

Wesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell (born November 5, 1974) is an American attorney and politician. He has been the U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district since 2025. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was the Prosecuting Attorney of St. Louis County from 2019 until 2025.

Political career

Before entering congress, Bell was the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri, from 2019 to 2025. He was the county's first black prosecutor.

In an upset victory, he beat long-time county prosecutor Bob McCulloch in the August 2018 Democratic primary election. He took office in January 2019.

In June 2023, Bell announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the 2024 election. In October 2023, he instead decided to run for the U.S. House seat of Missouri's 1st congressional district, beating incumbent Cori Bush in the Democratic primary in August 2024. He won the general election in November.

Personal life

Bell was raised in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. He is the son of a police officer father and civil servant mother. Bell studied at Lindenwood University, and University of Missouri School of Law.

References

  1. ↑ "Rep. Wesley Bell - D Missouri, 1st - Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  2. 1 2 Jordan, Sandra (November 6, 2018). "Victory night for Wesley Bell, former Ferguson councilman makes history as first black St. Louis County Prosecutor". St. Louis American. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  3. ↑ Ferner, Matt (August 7, 2018). "St. Louis Voters Oust Prosecutor Who Didn't Bring Charges In Cop Killing Of Michael Brown". HuffPost. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ Levitz, Eric (August 8, 2018). "Progressive Reformer Ousts St. Louis Prosecutor Who Didn't Charge Cop in Michael Brown Case". Intelligencer. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ Hancock, Jason (June 7, 2023). "St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell enters Missouri's U.S. Senate race". Missouri Independent.
  6. ↑ Byers, Christine; Maxwell, Mark (October 30, 2023). "Wesley Bell announces run against Cori Bush for Congress". KSDK. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Missouri 1st Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. 2024-08-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  8. ↑ "Missouri First Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. 2024-11-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  9. ↑ Allen, Ron; Noble Jones, Brittany (August 10, 2018). "Game changer: Wesley Bell ousts Bob McCulloch for prosecutor in St. Louis County". NBC News. Retrieved August 28, 2018.

Other websites