Cori Bush's path to re-election faces Republicans and revenge: Lacy Clay aide, GOP operatives organize dark money groups to oppose her
In less than two weeks, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) will face the voters for the first time as an incumbent. The progressive freshman will have to overcome some powerful forces — former Rep. Lacy Clay's revenge and Republican dark money groups — working behind the scenes to block her re-election bid.
The Ferguson activist pulled off a major upset two years ago when she defeated ten-term incumbent Lacy Clay, toppling the Clay family dynasty that represented St. Louis in Congress for more than half a century.
Clay has been vocal about his push to elect a more moderate centrist Democrat. In a July Fourth tweet, Clay told his supporters he had "donated to Yachad PAC, which is independently supporting Steve Roberts in his effort to defeat Cori Bush in MO-01."
The super PAC is spending tens of thousands of dollars in radio ads in the final weeks of the primary campaign. Its website says its mission is "to fire Cori Bush" for her "abysmal voting record."
"Being a member of Congress isn’t about excelling as a performance artist, it’s about getting real results for the people who hired you," the super PAC's website says.
However, the super PAC's founding documents and subsequent filings feature a series of false statements, glaring omissions, and obscure local Republican efforts to join forces with Clay and defeat Bush.