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Missouri's 6th congressional district takes in a large swath of land in northern Missouri, stretching across nearly the entire width of the state from Kansas to Illinois. Its largest voting population is centered in the northern portion of the Kansas City metropolitan area and the town of St. Joseph. The district includes nearly all of Kansas City north of the Missouri River (including Kansas City International Airport).

Missouri's 6th congressional district
From 2013 to 2023 From 2023 Interactive map of district boundaries
Representative	Sam Graves R–Tarkio
Population (2021)	788,813
Median household income	$69,337[1]
Ethnicity	88.2% White 4.1% Black 3.8% Hispanic 2.1% Two or more races 1.2% Asian 0.5% other
Cook PVI	R+18[2]

The district takes in all or parts of the following counties: Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, De Kalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Jackson, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Nodaway, Pike, Platte, Putnam, Ralls, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan, Worth.

Notable representatives from the district include governors John Smith Phelps and Austin A. King as well as Kansas City Mayor Robert T. Van Horn. In 1976, Jerry Litton was killed on election night as he flew to a victory party after winning the Democratic nomination for United States Senate. The visitors center at Smithville Lake is named in Litton's memory. Democrat Pat Danner, a former aide to Jerry Litton, won the seat in 1992 becoming the first woman to be elected in the district defeating a 16-year Republican incumbent.

George W. Bush beat John Kerry in this district 57%–42% in 2004. The district is represented by Republican Sam Graves, who has held the seat since 2001. Graves easily held on to his seat what was expected to be a tough 2008 election, defeating former Kansas City mayor Kay Waldo Barnes by 23 percentage points.

Historically, the 6th was not safe for either party. However, in recent years, it has trended Republican, mirroring the increasingly conservative bent of the more rural areas of Missouri that historically voted for Yellow Dog Democrats.

Redistricting following 2010 census

After Missouri lost a congressional seat following the 2010 census (in part because of losses in population in several rural northern Missouri counties), the 6th was expanded to include most of Missouri north of the Missouri River, stretching from border to border from Kansas to Illinois. The biggest geographic addition was in northeast Missouri (including Kirksville, Missouri and Hannibal, Missouri), which used to be the northern half of the old 9th district.[3]

The 6th lost Cooper and Howard counties to the 4th district, and Gladstone in southwestern Clay County to the 5th district. Meanwhile, the 6th was extended into Jackson County for the first time, taking in the northeastern portion between the Missouri River and Interstate 70, as well as a small sliver southwest of Independence.

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1853
John S. Phelps	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1863	33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Re-elected in 1860. Retired.
Austin A. King	Unionist	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	38th	Elected in 1862. Lost re-election.
Robert T. Van Horn	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871	39th 40th 41st	Elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Retired.
Abram Comingo	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Redistricted to the 8th district.
Harrison E. Havens	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	43rd	Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 1872. Lost re-election.
Charles H. Morgan	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	44th 45th	Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Lost re-election.
James R. Waddill	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881	46th	Elected in 1878. Retired.
Ira S. Hazeltine	Greenback	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883	47th	Elected in 1880. Lost re-election.
John Cosgrove	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Elected in 1882. Renominated in 1884 but withdrew before election.
John T. Heard	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1893	49th 50th 51st 52nd	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Redistricted to the 7th district.
David A. De Armond	Democratic	March 4, 1893 – November 23, 1909	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st	Redistricted from the 12th district and re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Died.
Vacant		November 23, 1909 – February 1, 1910	61st
Clement C. Dickinson	Democratic	February 1, 1910 – March 3, 1921	61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th	Elected to finish De Armond's term. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Lost re-election.
William O. Atkeson	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923	67th	Elected in 1920. Lost re-election.
Clement C. Dickinson	Democratic	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929	68th 69th 70th	Elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost re-election.
Thomas J. Halsey	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931	71st	Elected in 1928 Lost re-election.
Clement C. Dickinson	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	72nd	Elected in 1930. Redistricted to the At-large district.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	All representatives elected At-large on a general ticket
Reuben T. Wood	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1941	74th 75th 76th	Redistricted from the At-large district and re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Lost re-election.
Philip A. Bennett	Republican	January 3, 1941 – December 7, 1942	77th	Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942 but died before term began.
Vacant		December 7, 1942 – January 12, 1943	77th 78th
Marion T. Bennett	Republican	January 12, 1943 – January 3, 1949	78th 79th 80th	Elected to finish his father's term. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Lost re-election.
George H. Christopher	Democratic	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951	81st	Elected in 1948. Lost re-election.
Orland K. Armstrong	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953	82nd	Elected in 1950. Retired.
William C. Cole	Republican	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	83rd	Elected in 1952. Lost re-election.
William Raleigh Hull Jr.	Democratic	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1973	84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Retired.
Jerry Litton	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – August 3, 1976	93rd 94th	Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Died.
Vacant		August 3, 1976 – November 2, 1976	94th
Tom Coleman	Republican	November 2, 1976 – January 3, 1993	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected to finish Litton's term. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Lost re-election.
Pat Danner	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001	103rd 104th 105th 106th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Retired.
Sam Graves	Republican	January 3, 2001 – present	107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.

Election results from presidential races

Year	Office	Results	Political parties that won the district
2000	President	George W. Bush 53 – Al Gore 44%	Republican Party (United States)
2004	President	George W. Bush 57 – John Kerry 42%	Republican Party (United States)
2008	President	John McCain 54 – Barack Obama 45%	Republican Party (United States)
2012	President	Mitt Romney 60 – Barack Obama 38%	Republican Party (United States)
2016	President	Donald Trump 63 – Hillary Clinton 32%	Republican Party (United States)
2020	President	Donald Trump 63 – Joe Biden 35%	Republican Party (United States)

Election results

1996 • 1998 • 2000 • 2002 • 2004• 2006• 2008• 2010• 2012• 2014• 2016• 2018• 2020

1996

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 1996[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Pat Danner	169,006	68.6%
	Republican	Jeff Bailey	72,064	29.3%
	Libertarian	Karl H. Wetzel	5,212	2.1%
Total votes			246,282	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

1998

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 1998[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Pat Danner (Incumbent)	136,774	70.9%
	Republican	Jeff Bailey	51,679	26.8%
	Libertarian	Karl H. Wetzel	4,324	2.2%
Total votes			129,777	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Democratic hold		Swing

2000

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2000[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Samuel B. Graves, Jr.	138,925	50.9%
	Democratic	Steve Danner	127,792	46.8%
	Libertarian	Jimmy Dykes	3,696	1.4%
	Independent	Marie Richey	2,788	1.0%
Total votes			273,201	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

2002

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2002[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Samuel B. Graves, Jr. (Incumbent)	131,151	63.0%
	Democratic	Cathy Rinehart	73,202	35.2%
	Libertarian	Erik Buck	3,735	1.8%
Total votes			208,088	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

2004

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2004[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Samuel B. Graves, Jr. (Incumbent)	196,516	63.83%
	Democratic	Charles S. Broomfield	106,987	34.75%
	Libertarian	Erik Buck	4,352	1.41%
Total votes			307,885	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

2006

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2006[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Samuel B. Graves, Jr. (Incumbent)	150,882	61.64%
	Democratic	Sara Jo Shettles	87,477	35.73%
	Libertarian	Erik Buck	4,757	1.94%
	Progressive	Shirley A. Yurkonis	1,679	0.69%
Total votes			244,795	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

2008

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2008[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Samuel B. Graves, Jr. (Incumbent)	196,526	59.4%
	Democratic	Kay Barnes	121,894	36.9%
	Libertarian	Dave Browning	12,279	3.7%
Total votes			330,699	100%
Majority			62,353	18.8%
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

2010

Missouri's 6th district general election, November 2, 2010[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	154,103	69.44
	Democratic	Clint Hylton	67,762	30.54
	Write-In	Kyle Yarber	47	0.02
Total votes			221,912	100.00

2012

Missouri's 6th congressional district, 2012 [12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	216,906	65.0
	Democratic	Kyle Yarber	108,503	32.5
	Libertarian	Russ Lee Monchil	8,279	2.5
Total votes			333,688	100.0
	Republican hold

2014

Missouri's 6th congressional district, 2014[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	124,616	66.6
	Democratic	W. A. (Bill) Hedge	55,157	29.5
	Libertarian	Russ Monchil	7,197	3.9
Total votes			186,970	100.0
	Republican hold

2016

Missouri’s 6th congressional district, 2016 [14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	238,388	68.0
	Democratic	David Blackwell	99,692	28.5
	Libertarian	Russ Lee Monchil	8,123	2.3
	Green	Mike Diel	4,241	1.2
Total votes			350,444	100.0
	Republican hold

2018

Missouri's 6th congressional district, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	199,796	65.4
	Democratic	Henry Martin	97,660	32.0
	Libertarian	Dan Hogan	7,953	2.6
Total votes			305,409	100.0
	Republican hold

2020

Missouri's 6th congressional district, 2020[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sam Graves (incumbent)	258,709	67.1
	Democratic	Gena Ross	118,926	30.8
	Libertarian	Jim Higgins	8,144	2.1
Total votes			385,779	100.0
	Republican hold

Historical district boundaries

See also

• Missouri's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
• https://web.archive.org/web/20131013222920/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/popmap/

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