Missouri's 6th congressional district

"MO-6" redirects here. The term may also refer to Missouri Route 6.

Missouri's 6th congressional district
Missouri's 6th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Representative	Sam Graves R–Tarkio
Cook PVI	R+9

Missouri's 6th congressional district takes in a large swath of land in northern Missouri, stretching across nearly the entire length 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 all of Kansas City north of the Missouri River (including Kansas City International Airport).

Rep, Graves (left) with George W. Bush at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri. March, 2007.

The district takes in all or parts of the following counties: Adair, 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, 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 22 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 will be northeast Missouri (including Kirksville, Missouri and Hannibal, Missouri), most of which was in the northern half of the old 9th district.

List of representatives

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 from 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

1996

United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 1996

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

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. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
• http://2010.census.gov/2010census/popmap/