Nothing says "trust me with public office" quite like raising money for tornado victims and then absolutely refusing to explain where any of it went. Former Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri is facing some seriously uncomfortable questions in her quest to win back the seat she lost, and her strategy for handling those questions appears to be pretending they don't exist, as The American Tribune reported.
Here's the situation. After tornadoes tore through the St. Louis region earlier this year, Bush fired off fundraising emails begging supporters to send their hard earned dollars to an outfit called Politivist Power for relief efforts. The pitch was simple: your money helps tornado victims, and this has zero connection to her old campaign committee or Politivist Action PAC. Sounds noble, right?
Well, local station KSDK went looking for the organization's IRS Form 990, which is basically the annual financial report that nonprofits are required to file. They couldn't find one. They also couldn't figure out how much cash was collected or where it actually ended up, because Politivist Power apparently treats financial transparency like it's an optional side quest in a video game.
KSDK sent Bush's campaign a list of pretty basic questions a full week before publishing their story. Things like how much money came in, how much went to actual tornado survivors, and whether any funds were still sitting around. The campaign responded with the political equivalent of leaving someone on read.
But wait, it gets better. When reporter Mark Maxwell tried confronting Bush at a campaign event following a labor endorsement, she pulled out what might be the most creative dodge of 2025. She called the organization a "PAC that I cannot speak to as a candidate." That's one way to handle accountability, just declare yourself legally unable to discuss the thing you personally promoted to donors.
Her opponent in the Democratic primary, incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell, is having an absolute field day with this. His campaign has been circulating the KSDK report like party favors and publicly demanding answers about the missing tornado funds. And honestly, can you blame him? When your rival promotes a fundraiser for disaster victims and then goes completely silent about the money, that's basically a gift wrapped campaign attack.
This rematch between Bush and Bell is heating up fast. Bush held the Missouri 1st Congressional District seat from 2021 until early 2025, when Bell knocked her off in the primary. She announced a comeback bid last year, setting up round two.
And this isn't even her first financial headache. During her final term representing the district, she acknowledged that federal investigators were examining campaign spending tied to security costs, though she maintained everything was above board.
So to recap: we've got a former Squad member running for her old job, a tornado relief fundraiser with no public financial records, a candidate who won't answer basic questions, and an opponent gleefully pointing all of this out. Democracy, folks. What a show.
Read more American news stories at: The American Tribune
