Incumbent
Polling Average
50%40%30%20%10%0%
44%
40%
MO-01 Democratic nominee?
$16.7K
AUG 5, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleU.S. Representative
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
Age51 years old (Nov 5, 1974)
GenderMale
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LocationMissouri
BackgroundAttorney
EducationLindenwood University (B.A.)
Notable personal detailsWesley Jonell-Cleavon Bell is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district, taking office on 2025-01-03. He previously served as the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County (2019–2025) and was elected to the Ferguson City Council in 2015. Bell has worked as a public defender, taught criminology at St. Louis Community College–Florissant Valley, and served as a municipal judge and municipal prosecutor. He earned degrees from Lindenwood University and the University of Missouri School of Law.
SourcesShowHide
bell.house.goven.wikipedia.orgthegreenpapers.comclerk.house.govwikidata.orgbell4mo.comassemblyseries.wustl.eduthegrio.comapnews.comlcv.orgwashingtonpost.comnypost.comaxios.commo.onair.ccgmengage.gm.comthewellnews.comcookpolitical.comballotready.orgnewsouthpolitics.comus.onair.ccjewishdems.orgcongress.govjustfacts.votesmart.orgstlpr.orgstlamerican.comjewishinsider.comnewdemactionfund.comlykelect.comdmfipac.orgassets.apnews.comdeveloper.ballotpedia.orgdonate.ballotpedia.orgcdn.ballotpedia.orgfrontpage.ballotpedia.orgfec.govcommons.wikimedia.orgupload.wikimedia.orggovinfo.govziplook.house.govdocquery.fec.gov
Positions
LiberalConservative
Economy & Taxes
Supports strengthening the economy through worker-focused policies such as job and skills training, lowering health insurance and prescription drug costs, defending unions, and raising the federal minimum wage; no clear, specific public position on tax rates or major tax reforms was found in available campaign or official materials.
Healthcare
Supports protecting and expanding access to health care through government programs and opposes cuts to Medicaid; champions legislation addressing health-related needs like military family health screening and mental health data collection. Emphasizes preventing higher premiums and preserving coverage for working-class families.
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Immigration & Border
Supports comprehensive immigration reform including a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are working and paying taxes, emphasizes protecting asylum seekers and treating immigrants with dignity, and calls for limits and accountability on ICE including defunding until misconduct is investigated.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Supports protecting and expanding access to abortion and reproductive health care, including codifying key protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law and opposing prosecutions of people who seek or provide abortions. Advocates for access to birth control and opposes state-level bans that remove abortion access, including in cases of rape and incest. Has taken prosecutorial and policy actions to defend reproductive freedom.
Climate & Energy
Supports addressing the climate crisis through clean energy investment and environmental justice while pursuing federal action on pollution cleanup and weather-response infrastructure. Advocates for building a clean energy future and has pressed federal agencies (DOE, NOAA) on climate- and environment-related matters. No direct evidence found of endorsement of Green New Deal–style language or explicit plans to phase out fossil fuels.
Public Safety & Guns
Supports common-sense gun safety measures while acknowledging gun ownership; advocates programs to reduce guns in communities (e.g., federal grants for gun buybacks) and has overseen local gun-violence reduction efforts as a prosecutor. Emphasizes improving public safety through targeted regulation and law-enforcement partnerships rather than eliminating policing.
Polls
MO-01 Democratic nominee?
Aggregation source: FiftyPlusOne
Fundraising
Latest report: Cycle 2026Total raisedCash on hand
$5.4M
$4.0M
$2.7M
$1.3M
$0
2024
2026
LatestYear
Total raised
Cash on hand
Total spent
Burn rate
Cycle 2024
$5.4M
$433.9K
$5.0M
$206.3K
Cycle 2026
$1.9M
$1.2M
$1.1M
$73.4K
Source: FEC
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
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