Memorandum

TO:	Corbin Trent A Fight Worth Having
FROM:	Peter Feld Redbox Research
RE:	Democratic Primary poll in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District
DATE:	July 23, 2026

From July 19-20, 2026, Redbox Research (the polling unit of A Fight Worth Having) conducted a poll of 503 likely voters in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress in Missouri’s 1st District. Fielded by Braun Research of Princeton, NJ, using text to web, the survey’s margin of error is ±4.4%. The sample was minimally weighted by age based upon turnout data from recent primaries in this district.

Overview

Our poll of likely Democratic voters in the August 4, 2026 primary for Congress in Missouri’s 1st District shows that, after millions of dollars in attacks funded by AIPAC over two cycles, former Congresswoman Cori Bush faces structural obstacles in her rematch challenge to first-term Rep. Wesley Bell. Nevertheless, Bell shows signs of weakness that would be worrying to any incumbent, with ratings and vote share right at the critical 50% margin.

The most significant obstacles to Bush’s comeback include:

• Decent — though not overwhelming — job approval (57%) and favorability (58%) for Bell, whose relationship with voters extends back to his time as District Attorney.

• Strong negative ratings for the ex-Congresswoman, who is viewed unfavorably by three in five voters (61%) and favorably by only one in three (34%).

• Lack of movement by voters in response to messaging. Voters currently back Bell over Bush by 50% to 27%, a 23-point margin, with 2% for minor candidates and 21% undecided. After arguments in favor of both candidates, and then a battery of Bush positive messages and Bell negatives, Bush is able to narrow the race to 13 points (46% Bell, 33% Bush, 18% remaining undecided) but still trails by double digits. Voters’ responses to Bush’s positives and to Bell’s negatives are modest, while they react strongly to Bush’s own negatives like those used in AIPAC’s attack ads in 2024 and now.

Signs of concern for Bell are that there is a sizable group of voters who do not like him, and who react negatively toward some of his actions in office:

• Bell is only at 50% in the current vote, a critical margin for an incumbent, since undecided voters tend to side with challengers. (However, about 20% of voters remain undecided in most of our informed ballot tests.) Over one in three voters (36%) rate Bell unfavorably, an unusually high number for a first-term congressman.

• The district is fairly progressive in bent. Bernie Sanders (75% favorable), AOC (69%) and Zohran Mamdani (66%) are more popular than establishment Democrats Joe Biden (65%), Bell himself (58%), Hakeem Jeffries (50%), and the disliked Chuck Schumer (35%). AIPAC is loathed by most voters (16% favorable, 58% unfavorable) while DSA holds positive ratings from a majority (52% favorable, 29% unfavorable). A 43%-37% plurality want House Democrats to replace Hakeem Jeffries as leader if the party wins control — a margin that widens to a 53%-24% majority in favor of new leadership after voters read messages critical of Jeffries. Even a majority of Black voters (51%-26%) opt to replace Jeffries after learning about his record.

The voters most likely to support Bush are not turning out in sufficient numbers for her. Bush has strong support from younger voters (with a 52% to 20% lead among those under 35, and a 46%-36% lead among those 35-49). But only one third of the white vote (34%) is under 50, and a much smaller 19% of the Black vote is. And while we lack sufficient data on Black voters under 50 (too few to analyze), indications are that they support Bush by the widest margin of any group.

Missouri 1 primary voters seem locked into their choices. Bush picks up only 6 points, and Bell loses only 4, after reading messaging that favors Bush and criticizes Bell. Then, when voters see further negative messages against Bush that mirror the criticisms in AIPAC’s and Bell’s ads and social media, she loses her gains, but still holds her original 27% support. She wins half of that back after voters read a series of responses to the attacks, trailing Bell by 17 points (47%-30%) in our final informed ballot test. That leaves 20% of voters still undecided after reading all messages for and against both candidates, a sufficient number for Bush to convert and win, but as this poll shows, a steep challenge. A path to victory for Bush would include both persuading those persistently undecided voters, and producing a turnout surge among the young, especially Black voters under 50.

Political Environment

Progressives are popular. Bell’s advantage in the congressional race does not reflect a moderate bent to Missouri 1 voters. The most popular political figures measured in this district are national progressive leaders: Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Zohran Mamdani.

Among Missouri 1 primary voters, Mamdani is more popular than Joe Biden and incumbent Congressman Wesley Bell, DSA is more popular than Hakeem Jeffries, who is 25 points less popular than Bernie Sanders, and AOC’s favorability is also strong.

Sanders is king. Bernie Sanders and AOC hold such strongly positive ratings in Missouri 1 that their popularity cuts across all groups. Sanders is liked by 75% of primary voters, with only 22% unfavorable. His support comes not only from progressives (94% favorable) but also liberals (86%) — and even moderates-to-conservatives are positive toward Sanders, though barely (49% favorable, 47% unfavorable).

• Sanders is better liked by women (80% favorable) than by men (70%).

• Sanders has real cross-age appeal, with 88% of voters under 35 favorable to him and 75% of voters 65 and over.

• Sanders is stronger among white voters (81% favorable, and 91% among white voters under 50) than among Black voters (70% — still a strong rating).

AOC is a consensus figure. AOC’s 69% favorable rating, while a little lower than Sanders’s, is also spread across most voter groups. AOC has no significant gender gap, with a 68% favorable rating from men and 72% from women.

• Like Sanders, AOC shows cross-age appeal, with a 77% favorable rating from voters under 50, and 66% from voters 50 and over.

• While the Bell-Bush race is very much polarized between self-described progressives and liberals, AOC like Sanders is a consensus figure to both ideological groups. Her favorability among progressives is a sky-high 93% to 6% unfavorable, but she is nearly as strong among liberals (82% favorable to 11% unfavorable). Only with moderate to conservative primary voters in Missouri 1 does she hold a negative rating (36% favorable, 51% unfavorable).

Mamdani has rocketed to the top. Though a more recent entrant, Zohran Mamdani is already close to AOC’s appeal in this district with his 66% favorable, 20% unfavorable rating.

• Mamdani’s strong rating in this St. Louis, Missouri-centered district may surprise some. While as might be expected he is wildly popular among the young (81% favorable with voters under 35, and 75% among those 35-49), he is very well liked by older voters too (57% among voters 50-64, and 63% among voters 65 and over). Mamdani is most popular among white voters (73% favorable) but well liked by Black voters too (57%).

• Like AOC and Sanders (and unlike Bell and Bush) Mamdani does not polarize between progressives and liberals in the Missouri 1 primary electorate. While Mamdani is beloved by progressives (his 96% favorable to 2% unfavorable rating from them is even higher than AOC’s 93%-6%), he is strong with liberals too (77% favorable to 9% unfavorable), and disliked only by moderate-to-conservative Democratic primary voters (31% favorable, 47% unfavorable).

• Mamdani’s strongest groups are those with higher levels of education. While a 53% majority of voters with less than a 4-year college degree like the New York mayor, his popularity rises to 69% with college graduates and 72% among post-graduates.

Biden is strong, but with pockets of antipathy. Though Joe Biden’s 65% favorable rating is close to Mamdani’s 66%, his support follows a very different pattern. (And his unfavorable rating, 31%, is much higher.)

• Biden scores a stronger rating among women (72% favorable) than from men (58%).

• Biden gets tepid ratings from voters under 50 (52% favorable, 46% unfavorable), but is popular with those 50 and over (71% favorable, 24% unfavorable).

• Biden holds appeal to self-described progressives (65% favorable to 34% unfavorable) but is much stronger among liberals (83% to 16%). His ratings from moderate-to-conservative voters are split (48% favorable, 45% unfavorable).

AIPAC angers more than just progressives and the young. AIPAC is strongly disliked, with only a 16% favorable and 58% unfavorable score. Age is an important determinant in attitudes toward AIPAC: 79% of voters under 35 are unfavorable, as are 69% of those age 35-49. But even older voters don’t like AIPAC: it gets unfavorable ratings from 55% of voters 50-64, and 50% unfavorable (to only 20% favorable) from voters 65-plus.

• White voters have stronger hostility to AIPAC (17% favorable to 63% unfavorable), especially white voters under 50 (10% favorable, 79% unfavorable), but Black voters are also negative (14% favorable, 49% unfavorable).

• AIPAC is disliked most strongly by progressives (5% favorable, 87% unfavorable), but also by liberals (20% favorable, 54% unfavorable) and even by moderates to conservatives (23% favorable, 39% unfavorable).

• AIPAC is overwhelmingly disdained by voters who back Cori Bush (4% favorable, 90% unfavorable) but also by undecided voters (11% favorable, 58% unfavorable) and even by supporters of Wesley Bell (26% favorable, 40% unfavorable).

DSA is viewed warmly, including by Black voters. Despite efforts by national Democrats to push back against the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the organization is viewed positively by a majority of voters in Missouri 1 (52% favorable, 29% unfavorable).

• While a majority of both men (52% favorable) and women (53%) like DSA, the organization faces stronger negatives from men (38% unfavorable) than from women (22%).

• Expectably, DSA holds its strongest ratings from voters under 35 (70% favorable to 22% unfavorable). But it has a net positive rating from older voter groups, including those 35-49 (53% favorable to 32% unfavorable), 50-64 (45% favorable to 34% unfavorable) and even voters 65 and over (50% favorable, 27% unfavorable).

• Despite efforts to make DSA’s support appear rooted among white voters, there is no significant ethnic difference in its rating. DSA holds majority favorable ratings from both white voters (54% favorable, 29% unfavorable) and Black voters (52% favorable to 25% unfavorable) in Missouri 1.

Ratings of the Candidates

Unfortunately for ex-Congresswoman Bush, her personal favorability is net negative by a wide ratio, with a 34% favorable and 61% unfavorable rating. Bush is popular with a majority of young voters, but they are a small part of the electorate, and she rates poorly among the oldest voters who make up almost half the vote.

Wesley Bell’s favorability ratings by age group are the reverse of Bush’s. Bell is disliked by voters under 50, especially those under 35. But he is liked by voters over 50 and especially well-liked by those 65 and over, who make up the largest group. Among voters over 50, he is especially strong among women.

Bell is narrowly liked by men (52% favorable, 43% unfavorable), but is much more popular with women (65% favorable, 30% unfavorable). In contrast, Bush’s ratings show little gender gap, though she is slightly more liked by men (36%) than by women (31%).

Missouri 1 is a Democratic primary electorate polarized by ideology:

• Bush is very popular with self-described progressive voters (66% favorable, 27% unfavorable), who make up 27% of the vote. But among self-described liberals, who are 38% of the vote, her rating is only 27% favorable, 71% unfavorable. And among the 35% of voters who call themselves moderate or conservative, she is liked by only 16% and disliked by 77%.

• In direct contrast, Bell’s ratings among progressives are negative (32% favorable, 62% unfavorable). But he is strongly liked by liberals (71% favorable, 24% unfavorable) and by moderate-to-conservative voters (64% favorable, 29% unfavorable).

Undecided voters dislike both Bush and Bell. Of greatest concern to Bush’s campaign might be her ratings from the undecided voters she needs to persuade: only 25% of them give her a favorable rating and 61% are unfavorable to her. Bell is also disliked on net by undecided voters, with a 35% favorable rating and 47% unfavorable rating, but his favorability gap with this key group (-12) is less than Bush’s (-36).

Most voters, especially older ones who vote, are satisfied with Bell. Wesley Bell holds a positive job rating of 57% approve to 33% disapprove among primary voters. Job approval often tracks closely with an incumbent’s reelection vote percentage — voters rarely fire an official who they believe is performing well.

• Bell’s performance is rated much more highly by women (64% approve vs. 26% disapprove) than by men (51% approve, 42% disapprove).

• Approval of Bell’s job performance rises sharply with age. His rating is 26% approve, 59% disapprove among voters 18-34, 37% approve-52% disapprove among those 35-49, 55% approve-34% disapprove among voters 50-64, and 74% approve-19% disapprove among voters 65 and over.

• There isn’t much difference in how Black and white voters view Bell’s performance in office: he holds a 59% approval rating from Black voters and 57% from white voters.

• Self-described ideology is a major driver of attitudes toward Bell’s job. Among progressives, only 32% approve, while liberal voters approve of his job by a strong 72%, and among moderate to conservative voters, his job approval is 61%.

• Bell’s job approval is 51% in the city of St. Louis and 62% in the rest of the district.

• In a hopeful sign for Cori Bush, Bell’s job approval among undecided voters is only 31%.

Democratic Leadership

Despite support for Bell, voters want Democrats in Congress to change. Ratings by Missouri 1 primary voters of national Democratic congressional leaders are unimpressive to negative.

Hakeem Jeffries has a tepid rating of 50% favorable to 38% unfavorable — an 88% name recognition score that establishes him as a known figure — which puts him below Sanders, AOC, Mamdani, Biden, Bell, and even DSA.

But the ratings for Chuck Schumer are devastating for a party leader from his own base: he is viewed favorably by only 35% of Missouri 1 Democratic primary voters and unfavorably by a 56% majority.

Jeffries is weak with men, young voters, and progressives — and he has no edge with Black voters.

• Jeffries is on balance disliked by men (43% favorable, 50% unfavorable), but is liked two-to-one by women (57% favorable, 28% unfavorable).

• Voters under 50 are negative toward Jeffries. Among those 18-34, Jeffries is 22% favorable, 56% unfavorable. Among those aged 35-49, he fares almost as badly: 31% favorable, 54% unfavorable. However, older voters like Jeffries better: he scores 47%-40% among voters 50-64, and a strong 67%-26% among voters 65 and over.

• Jeffries does not register any special warmth from Black voters. His ratings are 51% favorable to 39% unfavorable among white voters, and a similar 51% favorable to 35% unfavorable with Black voters.

• Jeffries is majority negative with progressive voters (39% favorable, 54% negative), but strongly popular among liberal voters (68% to 20%) and is net negative among moderate to conservative voters (39% favorable, 46% unfavorable).

Schumer is in bad regard from Missouri 1 Democrats, driven by poor ratings from middle-aged voters. In contrast to Jeffries, who at least holds net positive ratings, Chuck Schumer is actively disliked by a 56% majority of the Missouri 1 primary electorate.

• Schumer’s ratings are particularly harsh from men (30% favorable, 65% unfavorable) and a bit milder (but still negative) from women: 39% favorable, 48% unfavorable.

• Contrary to the pattern seen for other establishment figures, Schumer has severe problems with middle aged voters, as well as the young. While only 16% of voters under 35 give Schumer a favorable rating and 62% are unfavorable, the New York Senator is even more underwater with voters aged 35 to 49 (17% favorable, 73% unfavorable) and is in poor shape with those age 50 to 64 as well (30% favorable, 61% unfavorable). The only group that likes Schumer are voters 65 and over, a large group to be sure (45% of the electorate), but they like him by only 50% favorable to 44% unfavorable.

• Combining Schumer’s poor ratings from men and from young voters, he scores a dismal 14% favorable to 81% unfavorable rating from men under 50, one of his worst groups.

• Schumer is similarly disliked by both white voters (36% favorable, 56% unfavorable) and Black voters (31% favorable, 55% unfavorable).

Progressives, moderates and conservatives don’t like Schumer. Schumer gets it from both ends of the ideological spectrum, with a 22% favorable to 71% unfavorable rating from progressives, and a 26% favorable to 62% unfavorable rating from moderate-to-conservative voters. The only group that likes him, liberals, does so by a relatively narrow margin (51% favorable, 41% unfavorable).

Voters want Hakeem Jeffries replaced. By 6 points (43%-37%), Democratic primary voters in Missouri 1 believe Democrats in Congress should choose new leadership if they regain control of the House in this year’s midterms. While those yet to vote feel more strongly about this, even those who have already voted want change, by a narrow margin.

• Sentiment to replace Jeffries as leader is strong among Democratic primary men: a majority of men (56%) think Jeffries should be replaced while only one in three (33%) want him to continue. In contrast, women want Jeffries to continue as leader, by a 41%-33% plurality.

• As could be expected, the youngest voters (under 35) most strongly want to see Jeffries replaced, by a 65%-14% margin. But all voter groups under 65 want to see new Democratic leadership in Congress, including voters 35-49 (who want to replace Jeffries by 57% to 22%) and those 50 to 64 (who want to replace him by 43% to 37%). Only voters 65 and over want to keep Jeffries as leader, by 49% to 32%.

• Progressive voters strongly want Jeffries replaced, by 59% to 20%. Those calling themselves liberal want him to stay on, by 48% to 34%. Moderate to conservative voters narrowly prefer replacing Jeffries, by 41% to 38%.

• Voters supporting Wesley Bell want Jeffries to continue, by 54% to 27%. Unsurprisingly, two thirds of Cori Bush voters want Jeffries replaced, 67% to 20%. But importantly, undecided voters want to see Jeffries replaced, by a wide 50% to 20% margin.

• A plurality of Black voters currently support keeping Jeffries as leader, by a margin of 43% to 28%, while a plurality of white voters want him replaced (45% to 35%). But after seeing a series of criticisms of Jeffries’s record in leadership, a majority of both groups opt to replace him.

Arguments to replace Jeffries as leader convince voters — especially women and Black voters. After reading messages about Jeffries’s performance as leader—including voting to fund ICE, failing to sufficiently fight Trump, breaking Democrats’ promises of affordability, failing to pass Medicare for All, backing the war on Iran, and his AIPAC money and support for weapons to Israel, all of which are about equally strong—support for change widens to a 2-to-1 mandate (53% someone new, 24% Jeffries should continue).

All six of the Jeffries criticisms shared with voters were rated as strong reasons to replace him by a majority of voters in Missouri 1. Most of the persuasion came from women, 20% of whom shifted toward replacing Jeffries, while only 1% of men did. However as noted above, a 56% majority of men already wanted Jeffries replaced. While young voters were already inclined to want Jeffries replaced, the criticisms of his leadership persuaded a substantial additional group (17%) of voters under 50. Combining shifts against Jeffries by age and gender, it was young women who moved most strongly (33%) toward replacing him as leader.

Wesley Bell vs. Cori Bush

Voters show little change after messaging. Compared with other races, we find very little movement by Missouri 1 primary voters in response to messaging. The race remains within a very narrow range, and voters seem already aware of the candidates and locked in to their choices. Undecided voters barely budge.

Wesley Bell currently holds a bare 50% of the vote, while Cori Bush receives support from just over one-quarter (27%). Messaging moves a small number of voters, but Bell retains a double-digit lead even after voters have learned about Bush’s strengths and Bell’s weaknesses. Bush is able to narrow Bell’s initial 23-point lead to 13 points after her positives and his negatives, but loses her gains when voters read criticisms of her similar to those in AIPAC-funded ads. About one in five voters (20%) remains undecided after seeing all the information about both candidates’ strengths and weaknesses.

The highlights of our persuasion tests show only small movement toward either candidate:

• Bush’s ad (split sample A): After reading balanced profiles taken from both candidates’ messaging, Bell gains two points and Bush one, for a 52%-28% Bell lead — little change. This version used the exact language in Cori Bush’s first TV ad. (See topline report below for full wording.)

• Alternate Bush message (split sample B): In a second version (see topline), voters saw the same Bell profile that had been contrasted with her TV, but her ad was replaced here with a different statement for Bush giving more detail than in her ad, mentioning the size of the AIPAC campaign against her, her Capitol sit-in to stop evictions, and her goals in office like Medicare for All and stopping arms transfers to Israel. In this version her gains were greater than among those who read her TV ad, rising 4 points and holding Bell flat, for a 50%-31% Bell lead.

• Bush positives: After voters have seen individual items in Bush’s positive message, she further narrows the race to a 17-point deficit (Bell 49%, Bush 32%).

• Bell negatives: And when voters see four criticisms of Bell, Bush pulls to within 13 points, at 46% Bell to 33% Bush.

• Bush negatives: However, after voters have read four widely circulated criticisms of Bush, on topics like her vote against Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, her concerns about Kamala Harris, and her possible misuse of donations, she loses her gains and the race returns to a 22-point Bell lead (49%-27%).

• Bush response: Her potential responses to criticisms restore some of the support she had lost. After voters see four such answers, she trails Bell by 17 points, 47%-30%, with 20% undecided and the rest supporting minor candidates.

Cori Bush’s base. Groups most supportive of Bush that would be key turnout targets for her campaign include progressives (61%), voters under 35 (52%) and those 35 to 49 (46%), men under 50 (51%), women under 50 (44%), and white men (37%). Bush shows more support in St. Louis (34%) than in the rest of the district (21%).

Undecided voters: About one in five Missouri 1 Democratic primary voters (20%) are undecided, and this figure remains nearly constant after they have read extensive information about both candidates, pro and con. Any path to victory for Cori Bush entails both driving Wesley Bell below 50% and winning over these undecided voters.

The largest groups of undecided voters include those aged 50 to 64 (32% undecided), Black voters (27% undecided), and especially Black voters over 50 (29% undecided).

Bush persuasion targets. While Bush gains 6 points from her current support level (27%) to her greatest gain (33%, after voters see her positives and Bell’s negatives), some groups stand out. Bush gains twice as much (+13%) than her district-wide average from voters under 35, and even more (+16) from women under 50. She also makes strong gains (+12%) from voters with less than a college education, which is a proxy for income level.

Positive Bush Messages

Abolishing ICE and protecting abortion top Bush’s most effective messages. All nine positive potential Bush messages are rated as “strong” by about half or more Missouri 1 Democratic primary voters, with abolishing ICE and protecting abortion topping the list. (See topline report for full wording.)

Undecided voters rank these messages in a similar order, though their list is topped by abolishing ICE and Bush’s leadership in affordable housing.

Percent rating each message a “very” or “somewhat” strong reason to support Bush.

Criticisms of Wesley Bell

Bell is most vulnerable on AIPAC and special interest money. While Bush’s positive messages bring her some additional votes, she makes additional gains after voters see criticisms of Bell’s performance in office. A majority of Missouri 1 voters express doubts about Bell after each of the four messages tested, leading with Bell’s support from AIPAC and vote just this past week to continue military aid to Israel, and his special interest donations. These same arguments cause doubts to a high percentage of the voters who shift toward Bush after reading messages.

Percent expressing doubts about Bell after each message.

Criticisms of Cori Bush and Responses

Bush loses her gains when attacked, but retains her initial support, and is most vulnerable on donations and disloyalty to Democrats. After absorbing millions of dollars in attack ads funded mainly by AIPAC over two cycles, it is not surprising that Cori Bush’s public standing has taken some hits. The strongest evidence of this damage is seen in her strong unfavorable rating (61%), discussed above, in her low share of the current vote (27%), in the lack of movement in her direction following her messages, and in her inability to win over more voters who don’t like Bell. (She wins only 63% from voters who disapprove of Bell’s job performance, and only 59% of those who give him an unfavorable personal rating.)

Percent expressing serious doubts about Bush after each message.

Despite the high number of voters expressing doubts about Bush after reading the criticisms of her, she loses only the gains she had built up with her messaging, and retains the support she holds in the current vote. It seems as if the attacks have already cost her, and are preventing her from advancing, but have been absorbed by her base who will stick with her.

Percent rating each response as “very” or “somewhat” convincing.

Explaining her vote on the Biden bill is the best Cori Bush response. Bush suffered great damage in 2024 from ads attacking her for voting no on Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill. While the response she ran at that time — that she had voted with Biden 90% of the time, then pivoting to abortion — is the weakest response tested, a response explaining the reason for her no vote (that it had been stripped of Democratic affordability promises like paid family leave, and the Child Tax Credit and Medicare expansions) is the strongest response, rated as convincing by a majority of Missouri 1 voters, and a majority of undecided voters.

The eviction moratorium sit-in story is a convincing response to charges that Bush is not effective. Among voters who shift toward Bush after reading her messages, 70% rate the sit-in as convincing.

Missouri 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary

A Fight Worth Having

July 19-20, 2026

Topline Report

503 Interviews

Margin of Error ±4.4%

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Q1. How likely are you to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress?

Q2. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Wesley Bell is doing as a member of Congress? Strongly, or not strongly?

Please indicate if you have a strongly favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or strongly unfavorable opinion of each of the following. RANDOMIZE ORDER Q3-12

Q13. For whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: For whom did you vote in the Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Q14. If Democrats win control of the House of Representatives this year, should Hakeem Jeffries continue to serve as the House Democratic Leader, or should Democrats choose someone else?

Q15. Here are descriptions of two of the Democratic candidates for Congress. ROTATE.

Wesley Bell is a Democratic Congressman and former DA who believes St. Louis deserves a representative who actually shows up FOR this district, not someone who helped pave the way for Donald Trump to get elected. As a progressive prosecutor, Bell supported criminal justice reform and helped 2500 nonviolent offenders avoid prison. Now, Bell is fighting to abolish ICE, bringing home millions in community funding. Bell voted to restore Republicans’ cuts to healthcare, to protect Missouri families. Bell is running for reelection to continue fighting for a brighter, safer, and more prosperous future for the hardworking people of St. Louis.

SPLIT SAMPLE A — AD VERSION

Cori Bush is the former Democratic Congresswoman. Bush says, “Trump’s donors didn’t send me to Congress, you did! And I delivered, bringing home record funding like $112 million in disaster relief for St. Louis, keeping families in their homes, and fighting to end the genocide in Gaza. That brought on millions of dollars of lies and attacks from pro-Israel AIPAC and Trump’s donors. That’s outside groups buying a congressman! We’re in a fight for our lives, our rights, and our democracy.” St. Louis lacks a fighter in Washington, and you know Cori Bush will never stop fighting for you.

SPLIT SAMPLE B — DETAILED VERSION

Cori Bush is the former Democratic Congresswoman who lost to Wesley Bell in 2024 after AIPAC spent $14 million dollars on misleading ads to defeat her. Big money special interests don’t want Bush back in Congress because she is a fearless and effective fighter for St. Louis. When Congress went off on vacation without extending eviction protection, Bush led a 3-day sit-in on the US Capitol steps to keep 11 million people in their homes during COVID. In Congress, Bush will support new Democratic leadership. She’ll fight for Medicare for All, safe and legal abortion, ending US weapons transfers to Israel, and stopping Trump’s illegal wars.

Based on what you have now read, for whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: Based on what you have now read, for whom would you have voted in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Please indicate whether each of the following statements are a very strong reason to vote for Cori Bush for Congress, a somewhat strong reason, or not a strong reason? (SCRAMBLE Q16-Q24)

Q25. Based on what you have now read, for whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: Based on what you have now read, for whom would you have voted in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Please indicate whether you think each of the following gives you serious doubts, some doubts, or no doubts about voting for Wesley Bell for Congress. (SCRAMBLE Q26-Q29)

Q30. Based on what you have now read, for whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: Based on what you have now read, for whom would you have voted in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Please indicate whether you think each of the following gives you serious doubts, some doubts, or no doubts about voting for Cori Bush for Congress. (SCRAMBLE Q31-Q34)

Q35. Based on what you have now read, for whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: Based on what you have now read, for whom would you have voted in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Please indicate whether each of the following responses to these criticisms are very convincing, somewhat convincing, or not convincing? (SCRAMBLE Q36-Q39)

Q40. Based on what you have now read, for whom do you intend to vote in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? IF ALREADY VOTED IN Q1: Based on what you have now read, for whom would you have voted in the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary election for Congress? (DO NOT ROTATE ORDER)

Please indicate whether you think each of the following is a very strong reason to replace Hakeem Jeffries as Democratic leader in Congress, a somewhat strong reason, or not a strong reason to replace Jeffries. (SCRAMBLE Q41-Q46)

Q47. Thinking again, if Democrats win control of the House of Representatives this year, should Hakeem Jeffries continue to serve as the House Democratic Leader, or should Democrats choose someone else?

Q48. What is your age?

Q49. What is your gender?

Q50. When it comes to politics, do you generally think of yourself as progressive, very liberal, somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat conservative, or very conservative?

Q51. What is the last grade of formal education you have completed? READ CHOICES.

Q52. Do you consider yourself Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American, or none of those?

Q53. And how would you describe your racial or ethnic background?