The Winner

If you live in Missouri's 8th U.S. House District, you will continue to be represented in Congress by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO)), who was declared the winner of the 2026 congressional race, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race on Nov. 3, and Smith took about 67.7% of the vote to about 29.2% for Democrat Christopher Reichard, a margin of about 39 points or about 86,932 votes, according to unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of State, Elections Division as of Nov. 11. ​

The winner is based on the AP call, and the vote figures are preliminary: they may change until the state certifies them. The seat stays in Republican hands.

The Race

Christopher Reichard, the Democratic nominee, reached the general election ballot by winning the Aug. 4 Democratic primary with about 15,334 votes. Cook Political Report rated the seat Solid R before Election Day. Inside Elections rated it Solid Republican and Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican, according to Ballotpedia.

Rebecca Sharpe Lombard, the Libertarian nominee, won her party's Aug. 4 primary and took about 3.1% of the general election vote, or about 6,996 votes.

Missouri's 8th Congressional District has about 772,800 residents and is about 87.8% white, according to geographic data for the district. Its median household income is about $60,200, and its median age is about 40. About 20.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is about 3.9%, and about 15.5% of residents live below the poverty line. The district is about 3.8% Black, about 2.6% Hispanic, and about 0.9% Asian.

What's Next

Smith is set to take office on Jan. 3, 2027. He said he will continue working to protect rural health care access, citing the Rural Health Transformation Program he authored and more than $12.5 million announced for providers in Missouri's 8th District, according to Jason Smith's official House website, which published his statement on Nov. 2.

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