Missouri's 5th District Primary

Six Republicans, two Democrats, and one Libertarian will appear on ballots Aug. 4 in the Missouri 5th Congressional District primary 2026; a crowded contest to determine who faces Democratic incumbent Emanuel Cleaver in November, when forecasters give Republicans better than even odds of flipping the seat.

Missouri runs a traditional partisan primary: each party holds its own separate election, and the winner advances to the general. No runoff mechanism applies. The general election is set for Nov. 3, with 10 candidates expected on the ballot across parties, including independents.

The district covers the Kansas City metropolitan area, anchoring Missouri's urban west. Cleaver has held the seat since 2005, but the Republican-drawn redistricting map that took effect for this cycle stretched the district beyond its Kansas City core into rural territory as far as Columbia, ground far less favorable to Democrats. All three major forecasters now rate the seat Solid Republican, a stark shift for a district a 20-year incumbent calls home.

The Candidates

Democrats

Cleaver, a United Methodist pastor and former Kansas City mayor, is seeking another term after more than two decades in the House. He sits on the House Committee on Financial Services, serving as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance and also on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets. His reelection bid in the 2026 midterm elections in Missouri comes under the shadow of a redrawn map that replaced much of his old base with rural precincts that trend sharply Republican.

Jordan Herrera, an attorney and veteran who previously worked in the Missouri Attorney General's Office, is the only other Democrat on the primary ballot. He is challenging Cleaver from within the party.

Republicans

Six candidates compete for the Republican nomination in the Missouri House District 5 contest. Two have attracted outside money and the bulk of public attention.

Rick Brattin is a Missouri state senator from Harrisonville and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He entered the race in February 2026 and earned endorsements from Gov. Mike Kehoe and Missouri Right to Life, along with the financial backing of Club for Growth PAC. Brattin holds a 90 percent lifetime rating on the Club for Growth Foundation's Missouri Scorecard, which it says ranks him first in the state senate.

Taylor Burks is a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and former Boone County Clerk — the first Republican to hold that office. He has run previously for congressional seats in Missouri's 3rd and 4th districts. Burks also serves on the Truman State University Board of Governors, a role that Club for Growth has targeted in attack advertising. Show Me Valor PAC has backed his campaign with outside spending.

Brett Hueffmeier brings a background in congressional staffing, academia, and foreign affairs. He holds a law degree from Saint Louis University and an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Brad Patty is a retired U.S. Army master sergeant currently pursuing a graduate degree in public administration.

Micah Beebe works in commercial real estate investments.

Berton A. Knox, Robert Foltz, and Sean Smith also appear on the Republican primary ballot. The data provides no additional biographical detail for those three candidates.

Libertarian

Randall "Randy" Langkraehr is the sole Libertarian primary candidate.

The Money Behind the Race

Outside spending in the Missouri 5th Republican primary totals $23,475 in independent expenditures through June 30, according to Federal Election Commission data. No communication costs have been reported. Every dollar targets Republican primary candidates; no outside spending supporting or opposing any Democratic or Libertarian candidate appears in the data.

Show Me Valor PAC leads all outside spenders with $16,016, all of it supporting Burks. Club for Growth PAC has spent $7,460, all in support of Brattin. Neither committee has filed any opposition spending.

By candidate, Burks holds the outside-spending edge: $16,016 from Show Me Valor PAC against $7,460 for Brattin from Club for Growth PAC. No other candidate in the field has drawn any reported outside support or opposition.

Total fundraising across all candidates in the race reached $3,430,101, per FEC records through July 27. The outside spending figures represent a fraction of that combined haul, with candidate fundraising driving the bulk of money in the contest.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball both rate Missouri's 5th Congressional District as Solid Republican, as of July 16. Inside Elections matches that assessment, also at Solid Republican, as of June 30. The consensus rating, aggregated as of July 23, sits at Likely Republican: a slight softening that reflects the aggregation methodology rather than any substantive disagreement among the three raters. For a seat held by a two-decade Democratic incumbent, the unanimity among forecasters is striking.

Prediction markets back that view. On Kalshi, Republicans trade at 88.8% to win the general election as of July 26, with Democrats at 11.2 percent and no probability assigned to any other outcome. The market has recorded $21,018 in trading volume on the race.

The Republican primary on Aug. 4 determines which candidate gets that 88.8% shot. With Brattin backed by the Club for Growth and Gov. Kehoe, and Burks drawing support from Show Me Valor PAC and his own military and county government record, the two-man outside-spending contest has defined the top tier of the GOP field, even as six names compete for the nomination.

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