Graves’ endorsement of Chris Stigall quickly sparked criticism over his ties to a longtime Missouri GOP consultant who is at odds with Trump and his political advisers
BY: RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent
The first Republican primary without an incumbent in 26 years in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District opened Tuesday with a clash over an endorsement that is likely the foreshadowing of a summer-long slugfest between top contenders.
The final day of candidate filing began with state Rep. Mazzie Christensen of Bethany formall bowing out of the primary to replace U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Tarkio Republican first elected in 2000. Christensen, who told The Independent last week she was seriously considering a run, announced Tuesday in a social media post that she is pregnant and will stay out of the race for Congress. She also said she would not seek re-election to the MIssouri House.
“There are incredible women who serve in Congress while raising young children and I have so much respect for them,” Christensen said. “But for me, right now, my heart is calling me to be fully present in these moments of motherhood, to embrace that role without the weight and demands of elective office.”
The day ended with Graves endorsing Chris Stigall, a nationally syndicated talk radio host, in the 33-county district that stretches from St. Joseph on the Missouri River to Hannibal on the Mississippi.
“My friend, Chris Stigall, is best suited to represent North Missouri in Congress,” Graves wrote in a social media post.
The endorsement brought a fiery response from Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett, who dropped out of a race for an open state Senate seat to file for Congress.
Graves “and his anti-Trump (Jeff Roe) political consultant are trying to hand-pick the next person to come after him for the next 26 years,” Willett posted on social media. “As conservatives, we don’t believe in rigging elections — he tried to with his last minute retirement announcement but I am giving the voters a choice. The people of North Missouri should decide their next Congressman — not the DC swamp.”
Roe, a longtime Graves advisor who runs one of the largest Republican consulting firms in the country, drew Trump’s ire after he worked for a pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC in 2024.
Missourians were already anticipating hotly contested primaries in the 1st District, where there will be a rematch of the 2024 Democratic primary between former U.S. Rep. Cori Bush and her successor, U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell.
Bush served two terms before Bell defeated her by 5.5 percentage points.
And in the gerrymandered 5th District, the Republican primary will be a six-way contest with the winner facing U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in November. A judge’s ruling last week left the new map in place despite an ongoing referendum campaign, making the GOP nomination more valuable. Even so, no major latecomers entered the race.
Forty-three candidates filed on the last day and, overall, 520 candidates filed by Tuesday’s deadline for offices ranging from circuit judge and state representative to state auditor, the only statewide race on the ballot.
Filing will reopen for the 6th District seat from April 7 to April 10 because of Graves’ withdrawal.
In the auditor’s race, incumbent Republican Scott Fitzpatrick has one primary opponent, Jerry Wistrand Jr. of Oak Grove. Quentin Wilson of St. Louis and Gregory Upchurch of St. Charles are vying for the Democratic nomination.
The GOP’s partisan majorities in the General Assembly are unlikely to be in danger, but Democrats hope they can break the two-thirds supermajorities Republicans have enjoyed since the 2010 election.
In the state Senate, 11 of the 17 seats on the ballot do not have incumbents seeking a new term. Democrats are contesting all 14 districts currently held by Republicans, while Republicans failed to file a challenger in one of the two open seats held by Democrats.
The Senate seats considered the most competitive have already seen enormous fundraising.
In the 8th District of Jackson County, Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson has amassed $663,000 in his campaign account, with $2.1 million more in a political action committee called Missouri Alliance. In the primary, Patterson will face former State Rep. Dan Stacy, who lags far behind in fundraising.
The only Democrat in the race, state Rep. Keri Ingle, had $200,000 in her campaign account on Dec. 31 and another $50,000 in the account of KERI PAC.
In the 30th District in Greene County, state Reps. Betsy Fogle, a Democrat, and Melanie Stinnett, a Republican, are vying for the seat of term limited Republican state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield.
Fogle and Stinnett are almost even on fundraising. Fogle had $300,000 in her campaign account and $102,000 in Forward PAC, while Stinnett had $407,000 in her campaign fund and $144,000 in the account of the Heart of SGF PAC.
In the Missouri House, Democrats did far better recruiting than they have in the previous two election cycles. Republicans won 111 seats in 2024, including 31 districts where Democrats did not field a candidate. Democrats won 52 seats in 2024, including 22 without a Republican candidate. In 2022, Republicans won 64 seats without Democratic opposition while Democrats took 28.
There are 73 Republican incumbents seeking re-election and 39 Democratic incumbents. Democrats failed to field a candidate in only six districts, and only three Republican incumbents have no opponent for November.
Republicans, meanwhile, are not contesting 28 seats, including 21 where the incumbent is seeking re-election.
Nine Democratic incumbents and 14 Republican incumbents are being challenged within their party in the August primary.