A former ‘Squad’ Democrat is attempting to regain a seat in Congress after losing a primary in 2024, but she is facing new questions about a lingering financial scandal.
And she hasn’t managed to answer new questions about it very effectively.
Former Rep. Cori Bush is facing renewed scrutiny in her campaign to regain Missouri’s 1st Congressional District after questions surfaced about money raised for tornado relief through an organization with limited publicly available financial disclosures.
The issue has become a point of contention in the Democratic primary, with Bush repeatedly declining to answer detailed questions about the organization, saying she is unable to discuss it.
The controversy centers on Politivist Power, an organization Bush promoted in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes that struck the St. Louis area earlier this year.
Following the storms, Bush sent fundraising emails encouraging supporters to donate to tornado relief through the group.
According to an investigation by local outlet KSDK, the emails stated that donations would be used to assist those affected by the disaster while noting that the contributions were not affiliated with Bush’s former campaign committee or her Politivist Action PAC.
KSDK reported that it was unable to locate a publicly available IRS Form 990 for Politivist Power, the annual tax filing that many nonprofit organizations are generally required to submit.
The station also said it could not determine how much money had been raised through the relief effort or how those funds had been distributed because the organization has not publicly released that information.
According to KSDK, the station sent written questions to Bush’s campaign nearly a week before publishing its investigation, requesting basic information about the fundraising effort, including the total amount collected, how much had been distributed to tornado victims, and whether any funds remained.
The report stated that the campaign did not respond to those questions before publication.
The controversy resurfaced this week after Bush appeared at a campaign event celebrating a labor union endorsement.
During the event, KSDK reporter Mark Maxwell again asked Bush about Politivist Power and its tornado relief fundraising efforts.
Bush repeatedly declined to answer questions about the organization.
Bush responded that the organization was “a PAC that I cannot speak to as a candidate” and continued to decline additional questions about the fundraising effort.
The exchange concluded without her providing details about how much money had been raised or how the donations were ultimately used.
The issue has quickly become a point of contention in Bush’s campaign as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in the Democratic primary.
Bell’s campaign has pointed to the KSDK investigation, arguing that donors and voters deserve greater transparency regarding the tornado relief fundraiser.
The campaign has publicly questioned how the money was spent, while Bush has not directly addressed those specific criticisms.
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Bush, a former member of the progressive “Squad,” represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District from 2021 until early 2025, when she left office after losing the 2024 Democratic primary to Bell.
She launched a comeback campaign last year in an effort to reclaim her former seat, setting the stage for a closely watched rematch between the two Democrats.
Bush became the subject of multiple federal investigations in early 2024 over her campaign’s spending on private security services, including payments made to her now-husband, Cortney Merritts.
Bush has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has said she and her campaign complied with all applicable laws while fully cooperating with investigators.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
