Already facing terrible poll numbers, hyper-woke left-wing “Squad” member Cori Bush of Missouri now faces a campaign finance shortage as she fights for her political life.
Shrub, 47, is a whopping 22 points behind rival Wesley Bell in a recent poll G.O.P firm Remington Research ahead of the Aug. 6 primary as she faces a Justice Department investigation for hiring her husband as a bodyguard.
Now it has been revealed that Bell – who has mainly hammered Bush on her anti-Israel views – is also beating her in the fundraising game.
Bell, a St. Louis County prosecutor, ended the fourth quarter with $408,000 in his campaign coffers.
Bush, on the other hand, started 2024 with just $215,000 and amid reports she is tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
Cori Bush, a left-wing ‘Squad’ member from Missouri, already facing terrible poll numbers, now faces a campaign finance shortage as she fights for her political life
Prosecutor Wesley Bell would defeat Bush in the Democratic primaries if they were held today, a poll showed last week
According to recent federal filings, Bell’s campaign raised $492,000 from October through the end of December. Donors include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who made the most of a $6,000 donation.
Bush, on the other hand, had a campaign debt of $130,000 and only $20,000 cash on hand at the end of September. the Riverfront Times. Its fourth-quarter fundraising figures have not yet been made public.
Her fortunes have faded since she was hit by a federal investigation last month into allegations that she misused taxpayer money to employ her husband as a private security guard.
The former nurse and BLM activist has also seen her support wane over controversial comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including voting against banning Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 attacks to enter the US to come.
Last week’s poll included only 401 likely Democratic voters in the upcoming primaries, but there appeared to be a large gap in support for Bush compared to Bell.
Bell, a prosecutor in St. Louis County, registered 50 percent support among those polled, while Bush came in at 28 percent.
He previously faced his own accusations of misspending $30,000 of taxpayer money.
This included spending $816 on a dinner at a steakhouse in Miami, and spending $8,000 on new office furniture after he took office, including a new espresso machine, reports the St. Louis Postal Service.
Bush started 2024 with just $215,000 and amid reports she has tens of thousands of dollars in debt
The former nurse and BLM activist has also seen her support wane over controversial comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including voting against banning Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 attacks to enter the US to come.
Bell, a St. Louis County prosecutor, ended the fourth quarter with $408,000 in his campaign coffers
The only other candidate in the Democratic primaries, former MP Maria Chapelle Nadal, recorded four percent. The poll had a margin of error of 4.9 percent.
The Democratic primary is essentially seen as the battle for the seat in Congress, as the district is solidly Democratic and has not had a Republican in the position since 1949.
Congresswoman Bush could not be contacted for comment and does not appear to have a press contact listed on her website.
The dismal polling comes after Bush faced severe backlash in recent months following the federal investigation, which she quickly blamed on “right-wing organizations.”
Bush rose to prominence during the 2020 BLM protests and stood firmly behind the “Defund the Police” movement — despite spending more than $750,000 on private security since her election that year, prompting accusations of hypocrisy.
Last month, the Justice Department subpoenaed the congresswoman for documents related to the misuse of private security funds after she hired her husband Cortney Merritt as her bodyguard.
Bush had previously met her husband after he was hired as a security detail following her election, and they tied the knot in a private ceremony in early 2023.
Although hiring relatives is frowned upon, it is not illegal. It would only be illegal if her current husband were forcibly paid above “fair market value.”
Bush and Merritts are seen here with President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden during a Christmas party at the White House
Cori Bush and her current husband Cortney Merritts together at the 2020 inauguration. They married in 2023
In 2022, he was on the payroll of her re-election campaign, and the investigation follows an ethics watchdog demanding an investigation into the $62,000 she paid Merritts from her campaign funds.
It also emerged that Merritts was paid to be Bush’s security guard despite not being licensed – which is required by the St. Louis Police Department, according to a Fox News report.
Merritts also reportedly did not have a security clearance in Washington, DC
When Bush was confronted by the media after news of the federal investigation broke, he insisted she was not the subject of the investigation and scolded reporters for asking the question.
Facing critics who blasted her staggering security spending as hypocritical given her position on police funding for the rest of her constituents, Bush argued it was a necessity because of threats to her security.
“Since before I was sworn in, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life,” she told reporters on the House steps after the investigation was announced.
She added that as a “regular member of Congress” she is not entitled to personal protection.
Bush (center right) with her husband Merritts (right), and fellow “Squad” member Rep. AOC (center left) and AOC’s fiancée (left)
Instead, she claims she used campaign funds to hire security forces, including her husband, who she says has “extensive” experience in this field.
“I have not used federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any report that I used federal funds for personal security is simply false,” she emphasized.
Months before the investigation was launched, Bush also drew the ire of critics after voting against a measure to ban Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 attacks from entering the US.
Bush, who was joined in her no vote by fellow Squad member Rashida Tlaib, labeled the measure “unnecessary” and argued that it was intended to incite hatred.
“I oppose HR 6679 because it is an unnecessary, empty messaging bill that Republicans are using to target immigrants and stoke anti-Palestinian hatred,” she tweeted.
“Republicans have NO credibility on this issue.”
Despite opposition from the two progressive lawmakers, the bill easily passed the House of Representatives on a 422-2 vote.