Missouri's 6th congressional district takes in a large swath of land in rural northern Missouri. Its largest voting population is centered in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the town of St. Joseph. The district includes all of Kansas City north of the Missouri River (including Kansas City International Airport).
The district from 2003 to 2013
The district takes in all or parts of the following counties: Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Cooper, Daviess, De Kalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Putnam, Ray, Schuyler, 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.
George W. Bush beat John Kerry in this district 57%-43% in 2004. The district is represented by Republican Sam Graves. 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 22 percentage points.
Redistricting following 2010 Census [edit]
After Missouri lost a Congressional seat following the 2010 Census (in part because of losses in population in several rural northern Missouri counties) proposed redistricting calls for the district to encompass most of Missouri north of the Missouri River stretching from border to border from Kansas to Illinois. The biggest geographic addition will be northeast Missouri (including Kirksville, Missouri and Hannibal, Missouri) that was formerly represented by Missouri's 9th congressional district.[2]
List of representatives [edit]
| Representative |
Party |
Years |
District home |
Notes |
| District created March 4, 1853 |
| John S. Phelps |
Democratic |
March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1863 |
|
Redistricted from the 5th district |
| Austin A.King |
Unionist |
March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1865 |
|
|
| Robert T. Van Horn |
Republican |
March 4, 1865 - March 3, 1871 |
|
|
| Abram Comingo |
Democratic |
March 4, 1871 - March 3, 1873 |
|
Redistricted to the 8th district |
| Harrison E. Havens |
Republican |
March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875 |
|
Redistricted from the 4th district |
| Charles H. Morgan |
Democratic |
March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1879 |
|
|
| James R. Waddill |
Democratic |
March 4, 1879 - March 3, 1881 |
|
|
| Ira S. Hazeltine |
Greenback |
March 4, 1881 - March 3, 1883 |
|
|
| John Cosgrove |
Democratic |
March 4, 1883 - March 3, 1885 |
|
|
| John T. Heard |
Democratic |
March 4, 1885 - March 3, 1893 |
|
Redistricted to the 7th district |
| David A. De Armond |
Democratic |
March 4, 1893 - November 23, 1909 |
|
Redistricted from the 12th district, Died |
| Vacant |
November 23, 1909 - February 1, 1910 |
| Clement C. Dickinson |
Democratic |
February 1, 1910 - March 3, 1921 |
|
|
| William O. Atkeson |
Republican |
March 4, 1921 - March 3, 1923 |
|
|
| Clement C. Dickinson |
Democratic |
March 4, 1923 - March 3, 1929 |
|
|
| Thomas J. Halsey |
Republican |
March 4, 1929 - March 3, 1931 |
|
|
| Clement C. Dickinson |
Democratic |
March 4, 1931 - March 3, 1933 |
|
Redistricted to the At-large district |
| March 4, 1933 - January 3, 1935 |
District inactive, all representatives elected At-large on a general ticket |
| Reuben T. Wood |
Democratic |
January 3, 1935 - January 3, 1941 |
|
Redistricted to the At-large district |
| Philip A. Bennett |
Republican |
January 3, 1941 - December 7, 1942 |
|
Died |
| Vacant |
December 7, 1942 - January 12, 1943 |
| Marion T. Bennett |
Republican |
January 12, 1943 - January 3, 1949 |
|
|
| George H. Christopher |
Democratic |
January 3, 1949 - January 3, 1951 |
|
|
| Orland K. Armstrong |
Republican |
January 3, 1951 - January 3, 1953 |
|
|
| William C. Cole |
Republican |
January 3, 1953 - January 3, 1955 |
|
|
| William Raleigh Hull, Jr. |
Democratic |
January 3, 1955 - January 3, 1973 |
|
|
| Jerry Litton |
Democratic |
January 3, 1973 - August 3, 1976 |
Chillicothe |
Died in plane crash after winning Democratic Primary for United States Senate |
| Vacant |
August 3, 1976 - November 2, 1976 |
| Tom Coleman |
Republican |
November 2, 1976 - January 3, 1993 |
|
|
| Pat Danner |
Democratic |
January 3, 1993 - January 3, 2001 |
|
|
| Sam Graves |
Republican |
January 3, 2001–Present |
Tarkio |
Incumbent |
Election results [edit]
References [edit]
