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
RepublicanSam 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.
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.
^House, Scott (May 14, 2005).
"Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves". The Missouri Speleological Survey. Archived from
the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
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
RepublicanSam 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.
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.
^House, Scott (May 14, 2005).
"Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves". The Missouri Speleological Survey. Archived from
the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.