Rick Brattin, who represents Johnson County and the Missouri State Senate’s 31st District, earned the Republican nomination for the Missouri 5th Congressional District in the Tuesday, Aug. 4, primary.
Brattin received 44.971% of the 77,501 ballots cast.
Taylor Burks, formerly the Boone County Clerk, finished second in the race with 26.371% of the vote.
“I am honored to be the Republican nominee for the 5th Congressional District, and I look forward to working with President Donald J. Trump to keep his America First agenda on track,” Brattin said in a statement.
Brattin now moves on to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the Democratic nominee, and Libertarian Randy Langkraehr in the Nov. 3 election.
Cleaver has represented the 5th Congressional District since 2005. The district was redrawn during a special session of the Missouri General Assembly in 2025.
Before redistricting, the district primarily included Kansas City and its suburban areas.
Under redistricting, the map now includes Kansas City, Raytown and Independence, while stretching across much of the I-70 and Highway 50 corridor into Central Missouri.
Those areas include, but are not limited to, Johnson, Pettis, Saline, Cooper, Morgan, Moniteau and Lafayette counties.
Johnson, Pettis, Saline, Morgan, Moniteau and Lafayette had been in District 4. Cooper had been in District 3.
A court battle over a blocked referendum petition to send the redistricting to voters is possible, according to the Missouri Independent.
If the map were to stand, Cleaver previously stated in an interview with the Star-Journal that though his current district is urban and suburban-based, he has experience serving rural communities under previous districting maps. In the past, his district has included communities such as Oak Grove, Odessa and Higginsville.
"If the intent was that I would be drawn into a district where I am alien to the way of life, they failed," Cleaver said. "I am fortunate to be someone who has deep urban and rural backgrounds."
Local areas such as Benton and Henry counties continue to be in District 4.
In Tuesday’s primary, incumbent Rep. Mark Alford earned the Republican nomination with 77.656% of the 93,135 votes cast. Heather Shelton finished second with 15,922.
On the Democratic side, Jordan Herrera won the Democratic nomination with 30.447% of the 65,196 votes cast. Hartzell Gray finished second with 18,055 votes.
Thomas Holrook received the Libertarian nomination.
While District 4 lost some of its rural counties in redistricting, it added a slither of Kansas City, as well as the suburbs of Grandview, Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.
Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.
