Last week, Cori Bush announced she would be challenging Bell in a rematch. The election will be held Tuesday, August 4, 2026. During the last race, AIPAC – the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – funneled more than $3 million directly to Bell’s campaign, and spent nearly $9 million on a super PAC supporting him. Bell unseated Bush by around 7,000 votes.

Bell previously ran into political problems over a taxpayer-funded 2016 Chevy Tahoe he drove as St. Louis County prosecutor, racking up enough unpaid parking tickets that it made the local news in 2019. In October 2022, Farmer put a personal 2020 Durango up for sale on Facebook.

In September 2022, Bell used public money to order two new vehicles for himself and for Farmer. For himself, he bought a Ford Expedition Limited for $69,964 and for Farmer an Expedition XLT – unlike Bell’s, no leather seats – for $60,494, according to news reports at the time.

To find room in the budget, Bell had requested additional funds to hire new attorneys, and was given $700,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money for the purpose, local media reported. After hiring about half the attorneys he said he would, he shifted money from another fund for employees and used it to buy the vehicles.