Who Is Wesley Bell, the Prosecutor Who Ousted ‘Squad’ Member Cori Bush?

The House primary between rival progressives in Missouri was influenced by heavy spending from pro-Israel groups, who backed Mr. Bell.

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Wesley Bell speaks to supporters. Mr. Bell had an unconventional start for a progressive politician: He was the campaign manager for a Republican.

Wesley Bell ensured his place in the spotlight on Tuesday when he defeated Representative Cori Bush in a nationally watched House primary that became a microcosm of the divide in the Democratic Party over Israel’s war in Gaza. Pro-Israel groups spent millions to oust Ms. Bush, who was the second member of the progressive group of lawmakers known as “the Squad” to lose a primary this summer.

Here’s a closer look at Mr. Bell.

How old is he and where is he from?

He is 49 years old. He grew up in the northern part of St. Louis County. His father was a police officer and his mother is a county civil servant. He graduated from Lindenwood University in Missouri, where he double majored in political science and public management. He received his law degree from the University of Missouri.

From 2011 to 2018, Mr. Bell was professor and program coordinator of the criminal justice and legal studies departments at St. Louis Community College on the Florissant Valley campus, which is in Ferguson, Mo.

Where did he get his start in politics?

Mr. Bell’s foray into politics was unconventional for a progressive politician. In 2006, he was the campaign manager for a Republican, Mark J. Byrne, who ran unsuccessfully for the same House seat that Mr. Bell is now seeking to fill. A spokesman for Mr. Bell described the two men to the Huffington Post as friends who had different political affiliations and views on policy.

In 2015, charting his own path in politics, Mr. Bell won a seat on the City Council in Ferguson, a predominantly Black community in St. Louis County. It was the first municipal election since Michael Brown, a Black teenager, was shot to death there by a white police officer in 2014, a killing that set off violent protests over police brutality and racial injustice.

In 2018, Mr. Bell was elected as the St. Louis County prosecutor after defeating the longtime incumbent, Robert P. McCulloch, who had been widely criticized over his handling of the shooting of Mr. Brown, in the Democratic primary.

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