Rick Brattin wins Republican primary for Missouri seat redrawn to favor GOP
Trump-endorsed Rick Brattin won the GOP primary for Missouri's 5th Congressional District, CBS News projects, setting up a battle against an 11-term Democrat in a district that was made far more GOP-leaning.
August 4, 2026 / 11:57 PM EDT / CBS News
Brattin defeated a crowded field of GOP primary candidates Tuesday. Incumbent Rep. Emanuel Cleaver ran for the Democratic nomination unopposed.
A Marine veteran, Brattin was elected to the Missouri state Senate in 2020, after serving in the state House of Representatives. President Trump offered his endorsement Monday, calling Brattin a "MAGA Warrior," and he was backed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe.
The seat previously covered a deep-blue area surrounding Kansas City, but it was transformed during last year's nationwide redistricting scramble, which led state lawmakers to split up the state's second-largest metro area between three different districts. The 5th District now juts over 150 miles from Kansas City into Central Missouri, and its electorate is just 41% Democratic, down from 62% Democratic under its old borders, according to a CBS News analysis .
Brattin — a native of the Kansas City area — lives just outside the redrawn district, but he represents part of it in the state legislature, The Kansas City Star reported last month.