Rick Brattin, a state lawmaker endorsed by former President Trump, has secured the Republican nomination for Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, according to projections by CBS News. This sets the stage for a contest against incumbent Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who has held the seat for 11 terms, in a district that has been reshaped to favor Republican candidates following last year’s redistricting.
On Tuesday, Brattin emerged victorious in a competitive Republican primary. Cleaver ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
A veteran of the Marine Corps, Brattin was elected to the Missouri state Senate in 2020, after previously serving in the state House. Trump endorsed him on Monday, referring to Brattin as a “MAGA Warrior,” and he received support from Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe.
The 5th District, which was historically a stronghold for Democrats around Kansas City, underwent significant changes during the redistricting process last year. State lawmakers reconfigured the state’s second-largest metropolitan area into three separate districts. The current boundaries of the 5th District now extend over 150 miles from Kansas City into Central Missouri, with only 41% of its electorate identifying as Democratic, a decrease from the previous 62% under the former district lines, as reported by CBS News.
Although Brattin resides just outside the newly drawn district, he represents portions of it in the state legislature, according to a report from The Kansas City Star last month.
If Brattin is successful in flipping the 5th District, which many national analysts now regard as leaning securely Republican, it could bolster the party’s chances of maintaining its slim majority in the House during what is anticipated to be a tough midterm election cycle.
Additionally, this outcome would result in Cleaver’s removal from office; he has been a prominent figure in the House since 2005 and previously served as the mayor of Kansas City. Over the years, Missouri Republicans have explored ways to redraw district lines in order to diminish Cleaver’s electoral prospects as the state has become increasingly Republican.
The state legislature approved new congressional maps last fall in a rare mid-cycle redistricting effort, shortly after Texas Republicans shifted five of their districts to the right at Trump’s behest, prompting California Democrats to readjust five districts to the left. Currently, Missouri has one district leaning Democratic in the St. Louis region and seven districts favoring Republican candidates.
These changes have faced legal challenges from opponents who argue that the new districts lack compactness and contravene the state constitution. However, the Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the new map.
