Missouri's 6th congressional district

Missouri's 6th congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Sam Graves R–Tarkio
Population (2023)	785,446
Median household income	$71,515[1]
Ethnicity	86.2% White 4.6% Two or more races 3.8% Hispanic 3.5% Black 1.0% Asian 0.8% other
Cook PVI	R+21[2]

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 much of Kansas City north of the Missouri River (including Kansas City International Airport).

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, Lincoln, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Nodaway, Pike, Platte, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, 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.

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 pushed further into Jackson County, taking in the northeastern portion between the Missouri River and Interstate 70, as well as a small sliver southwest of Independence.

In the 2020 redistricting, more of Clay County was ceded the 5th District, including North Kansas City. The district also moved into the St. Louis metropolitan area for the first time, gaining most of Lincoln County, including its largest city, Troy, from the 3rd district.

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District created March 4, 1853
John S. Phelps (Springfield)	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 (Richmond)	Union	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	38th	Elected in 1862. Lost re-election.
Robert T. Van Horn (Kansas City)	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871	39th 40th 41st	Elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Retired.
Abram Comingo (Independence)	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Redistricted to the 8th district.
Harrison E. Havens (Springfield)	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	43rd	Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 1872. Lost re-election.
Charles H. Morgan (Lamar)	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	44th 45th	Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Lost re-election.
James R. Waddill (Springfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881	46th	Elected in 1878. Retired.
Ira S. Haseltine (Springfield)	Greenback	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883	47th	Elected in 1880. Lost re-election.
John Cosgrove (Boonville)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Elected in 1882. Renominated in 1884 but withdrew before election.
John T. Heard (Sedalia)	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 (Butler)	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 (Clinton)	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 (Butler)	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923	67th	Elected in 1920. Lost re-election.
Clement C. Dickinson (Clinton)	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 (Holden)	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931	71st	Elected in 1928 Lost re-election.
Clement C. Dickinson (Clinton)	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 (Springfield)	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 (Springfield)	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 (Springfield)	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 (Amoret)	Democratic	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951	81st	Elected in 1948. Lost re-election.
Orland K. Armstrong (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953	82nd	Elected in 1950. Retired.
William C. Cole (St. Joseph)	Republican	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	83rd	Elected in 1952. Lost re-election.	1953–1963 [data missing]
William Raleigh Hull Jr. (Weston)	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.
					1963–1973 [data missing]
Jerry Litton (Chillicothe)	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – August 3, 1976	93rd 94th	Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Died.	1973–1983 [data missing]
Vacant		August 3, 1976 – November 2, 1976	94th
Tom Coleman (Gladstone)	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.
					1983–1993 [data missing]
Pat Danner (Kansas City)	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.	1993–2003 [data missing]
Sam Graves (Tarkio)	Republican	January 3, 2001 – present	107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th	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.
					2003–2013
					2013–2023
					2023–present

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

• 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/

39°56′53″N 93°17′37″W / 39.94806°N 93.29361°W / 39.94806; -93.29361