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St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell announces 2024 U.S. Senate run

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell gives remarks after being sworn in to another term on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, during an inauguration ceremony at Memorial Park Plaza in Clayton.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell gives remarks after being sworn in to another term on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, during an inauguration ceremony at Memorial Park Plaza in Clayton.

The St. Louis County Democrat’s decision puts him on a collision course with Lucas Kunce, who has the backing of a number of labor organizations.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell will run for the U.S. Senate, making him the second prominent Democratic candidate who wants to take on Republican Josh Hawley.

“As Missourians and Americans, we have more in common than politicians like Josh Hawley say we do,” Bell said in an announcement web video posted on Twitter Wednesday.

Bell was first elected as St. Louis County prosecutor in 2018, ousting longtime incumbent Bob McCulloch. He won reelection in 2022 with minimal opposition and can run in 2024 without giving up his current post. He previously served on the Ferguson City Council.

His decision to run for the Senate puts him on a collision course with Lucas Kunce, who ran for the Senate in 2022. Kunce has racked up a number of prominent endorsements in his second Senate bid, most notably the Missouri AFL-CIO.

"From day one, this campaign has been a fight to take this U.S. Senate seat back for working people, Kunce said. “When the working people of Missouri unite, they win.”

Most election prognosticators say Hawley is favored to win reelection, thanks to Missouri’s tilt to the right over the past few election cycles. But Democrats contend Hawley is more vulnerable than people expect, especially after he was the first senator to object to President Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania.

Missouri’s Senate primary is set for August.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Copyright 2023 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Since entering the world of professional journalism in 2006, Jason Rosenbaum dove head first into the world of politics, policy and even rock and roll music. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Rosenbaum spent more than four years in the Missouri State Capitol writing for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Lawyers Media and the St. Louis Beacon. Since moving to St. Louis in 2010, Rosenbaum's work appeared in Missouri Lawyers Media, the St. Louis Business Journal and the Riverfront Times' music section. He also served on staff at the St. Louis Beacon as a politics reporter. Rosenbaum lives in Richmond Heights with with his wife Lauren and their two sons.
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