Who's In the Race
Republican Chris Stigall faces Democrat Josh Smead and Libertarian Andy Maidment in the November 3 general election in Missouri's 6th District. The seat is open because Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) announced his retirement from Congress in a March 27 statement from his office.
Stigall is a longtime radio talk-show host born in Richmond, Missouri. He won the Aug. 4 Republican primary with about 44% of the vote, ahead of runner-up Nathan Willett, who received about 34%. Smead is a licensed architect who runs an architecture and construction business with his wife, Carly, and has worked on large projects including the Aloha Stadium redevelopment in Honolulu. He won the Aug. 4 Democratic primary with about 48% over runner-up Matt Levine, who received about 30%.
What They Stand For
Stigall has described himself as pro-life and supports policies protecting unborn life while opposing taxpayer funding for abortion, according to his campaign website. He's also supported making President Trump's tax cuts permanent and opposing tax increases, secure borders, finishing the border wall, ending catch-and-release, and the SAVE Act, gun rights for law-abiding citizens, saying the Second Amendment "is not negotiable"; and reducing federal red tape and expanding access to care to strengthen rural hospitals.
Smead has proposed a universal healthcare system and better rural access to affordable care, including funding for struggling hospitals, according to his campaign website. He's also supported policies prioritizing family farms, expanding markets for U.S. agriculture, and farmers' right to repair their equipment, abortion rights and opposing government regulation of personal choices, including gender and lifestyle choices, greater funding for public schools and opposing school vouchers, saying "School choice is not a choice for everyone, especially in rural areas", and retaining Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP, and opposing tariffs he says raise costs.
The Money Behind the Race
Through July 15, Stigall had raised about $599,000 and held about $166,000 in cash, more than eight times the roughly $72,000 Smead raised and nearly ten times the about $17,000 Smead had on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Stigall reported about $64,000 in debt as of July 15, roughly 11 percent of his $599,336 in total receipts.
Outside groups spent about $138,000 opposing Stigall, all of it from Conservative Future Fund, while zero outside dollars supported him in the general election; the bulk of outside spending in the race, about $1.31 million, went to support Willett, who lost the Republican primary.
Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets
Cook Political Report rated the race "Solid Republican" as of Oct. 9; Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it "Solid Republican" as of Oct. 11; and Inside Elections rated it "Solid Republican" as of Oct. 2. On Kalshi, traders gave Republicans a 93.5% chance of winning as of Oct. 15 while Democrats stood at 6.5%.
Sam Graves carried the 6th District with about 70% of the vote in both 2022 and 2024, a margin that barely moved between the two cycles. Republicans won six of Missouri's eight U.S. House seats in both 2022 and 2024. Donald Trump carried Missouri with about 58% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election.
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