Hyper-woke Squad member Cori Bush is forecast to lose Democrat primary by TWENTY-TWO points, new poll shows, after she used taxpayer funds to pay husband to act as bodyguard while calling for police to be defunded
“Squad” member Cori Bush could lose her seat in Congress in a landslide this summer, according to a new poll.
The 47-year-old congressman from Missouri is as much as 22 points behind rival Welsey Bell in a new poll from Republican firm Remington Research.
Bush, who will vote in the Democratic primary on August 6, faced a federal investigation last month over allegations that she misused taxpayer money to hire 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.
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, 47, trails rival Welsey Bell by as much as 22 points in a new poll
Prosecutor Wesley Bell would defeat Bush in the Democratic primaries if they were held today, a new poll shows
The poll included only 401 likely Democratic voters in the upcoming primaries, but there was 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.
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 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
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.”
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.