Clay ousted in Missouri primary after 20 years in Congress

ST. LOUIS (AP)

Cori Bush, a onetime homeless woman who led protests following a white police officer's fatal shooting of a Black 18-year-old in Ferguson, has ousted longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in Missouri's Democratic primary.

Bush's victory came in a rematch of 2018, when she failed to capitalize on a national Democratic wave that favored political newcomers such as Bush's friend, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But this time around, Bush's supporters said protests over George Floyd's death and outrage over racial injustice finally pushed her over the edge.

Missouri's 1st Congressional District, covering a large part of the St. Louis area, has been represented by the 64-year-old Clay or his father for a half-century. Bill Clay served 32 years before retiring in 2000, when William Lacy Clay was elected.