Missouri: Sixth District

Rep. Sam Graves (R)

Sam Graves (R) Elected 2000, 4th term up
Born:	11-07-1963, Tarkio
Home:	Tarkio
Education:	U. of MO, B.S. 1986
Religion:	Baptist
Marital Status:	married (Lesley)
Elected  Office:	MO House of Reps., 1992-94; MO Senate 1994-2000.
Professional Career:	Farmer.
DC Office	1415 LHOB, 20515 202-225-7041 Fax: 202-225-8221 Website: www.house.gov/graves
State Offices	Liberty:816-792-3976; St. Joseph:816-233-9818;
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The rolling, surging fields along the Missouri River in northwest Missouri were settled in a rush in the late 19th century and they lost people for most of the 20th century. Fewer hands were needed on farms than half a century ago, far fewer than a century ago. In 1940, this area had one of the largest meatpacking operations in the world, but the meatpacking business for years generated no new jobs here. Barge traffic on the Missouri has all but disappeared, a victim of drought, low levels (because of recreational uses upstream) and court rulings in favor of environmentalists. Just as Kansas City was the starting place for many wagon trains heading west, the river town of St. Joseph was the starting point for the Pony Express and its roughly 10-day transport of mail to Sacramento. Today, St. Joe is the biggest town north of Kansas City, with 73,000 people in 2005; it recently spent more than $1 million for a port to service the barges, though it has rarely been used. The counties of northwest Missouri, aside from those in the Kansas City metro area, had 508,000 people in 1900, 452,000 in 1940 and 318,000 in 1990. But in the 1990s, the local economy began to perk up a little, and the number climbed to 330,000; some counties that had been losing population since 1900 started to gain. Biopharming—the use of genetically modified crops, such as rice, to grow medications—has become a growth industry in some of these rural communities.

The 6th Congressional District of Missouri takes in all these counties plus part of metro Kansas City—Clay and Platte Counties and a small portion of Jackson County east of Independence, including Blue Springs. The Kansas City area casts about half the district’s votes. The historic political tradition here was mostly Democratic, but it has been tempered by dislike for national Democrats’ cultural liberalism. This was strong Perot country in 1992; Bill Clinton carried it with a plurality in 1992 and 1996. But the rural vote here, as across the nation has moved toward Republicans. George W. Bush carried the district with 53% in 2000 and 57% in 2004.

The congressman from the 6th District is Sam Graves, a Republican first elected in 2000. He is a lifelong resident of Tarkio in the northwest corner of the state. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in agronomy, farmed with his father and brother, and joined the Farm Bureau. He ran for the state House in 1992 and beat a longtime Democratic incumbent; in 1994 he was elected to the state Senate. He attracted attention in 1998 with a five-hour filibuster against a school desegregation bill he said was slanted against rural areas; but the bill eventually passed. Graves got his opportunity to run for the U.S. House when Congresswoman Pat Danner, 22 minutes before the May withdrawal deadline and without a public announcement, delivered to the secretary of state her withdrawal from the race. Not by accident, the immediate favorite to succeed her was her son, state Senator Steve Danner. Graves entered the race within the short window provided by state law and drew support from national Republicans. Teresa Loar, a moderate Republican on the Kansas City Council, attacked Graves as the darling of extremist and sexist party leaders. Graves beat her 68%-17%. Against three weak Democratic alternatives, Steve Danner was held to 56% in the Democratic primary—a bad omen for November. In the general, Danner called himself a conservative Democrat and the candidates agreed on some issues: the death penalty, repeal of the marriage penalty tax and trade relations with China. But they differed on education funding, abortion rights (Danner switched from pro-life to pro-choice), gun control and the performance of Bill Clinton. Graves called Danner a “tax and spend liberal” and said that when this acorn fell from the tree, “it rolled to the left.” In an editorial endorsing Graves, the Kansas City Star said that Danner’s campaign switch on abortion showed that he “engaged in raw opportunism at the slightest opportunity,” and that his central principle was “me first.” Graves won 51%-47%.

In the House, Graves showed some moderate instincts, especially on foreign policy, and has usually been a party loyalist. He supported the 2002 farm bill and tended mostly to local issues. In 2005 the House passed his amendment to the transportation bill to preempt state laws on liability for damages involving rental cars, a measure of interest to St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car. 

In this previously competitive district, Graves has had no trouble with reelection; local Democrats and a few Republicans have complained about his hard-nosed political tactics. In 2006, the Star endorsed his opponent Sara Jo Shettles, who chaired the Clay County Democrats, and criticized Graves as “reluctant to acknowledge serious problems facing the country.” Graves won 62%-36%.

In May 2007, Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, long sought after by national Democrats as a candidate in the 6th, announced she would challenge Graves in 2008. A month later, the Graves family was in the news again: the congressman's brother, Todd, a former U.S. attorney, testified before Congress that he had been forced to resign by high-ranking Justice Department officials. It was reported that Senator Kit Bond had urged Justice to replace Graves; Bond had also raised eyebrows in April when he publicly praised Barnes's record in office at the same time she was being recruited to run against Sam Graves.

Committees

• Agriculture (7th of 21 R)
  General Farm Commodities & Risk Management; Conservation, Credit, Energy & Research.
• Small Business (3d of 15 R)
  Contracting & Technology.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (16th of 34 R)
  Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management (RMM); Aviation; Railroads, Pipelines & Hazardous Materials.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 5
• Area size: 13,124 square miles
• Urban Population: 66.3%
• Rural Population: 33.7%
• Population 2000: 621,690
• Population 2005 (est): 650,837
• Median Income: $41,225
• Poverty Status: 8.7%
• Military Veterans: 14.5%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 92.4% White; 2.8% Black; 0.8% Asian; 0.4% Native Am.; 0.1% Hawaiian; 1.1% Two+ races; 0.1% Other; 2.4% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 17.1% German%; 9.8% Irish%; 8.9% USA%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 25.9%; White collar 58.6%; Gray collar 15.5%;