Don Coover

Coover was born and raised in rural southeast Kansas, the second oldest of seven children in a family that ran a small dairy, alfalfa, and soybean farm. According to his campaign website, his father was a union truck driver and farmer and his mother a school teacher.[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where, according to his campaign website, he was on the intercollegiate pistol team and was an intramural boxer.[1][2] He served in the U.S. Army for about ten years; in his Ballotpedia survey, he says he was a military intelligence officer and pilot and rose to the rank of Captain.[2]

Coover earned a graduate veterinary degree from Kansas State University's School of Veterinary Medicine. In his Ballotpedia survey, he says he runs a beef genetics company providing reproductive technologies for cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as a cattle ranch and a veterinary practice serving local and regional livestock producers.[2] He advanced from the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary for the 2nd District. He describes himself as a first-time candidate, and his campaign site says he was running in part for the future of his granddaughter.[1][2] During the campaign, he emphasized affordability, rural hospital closures, opposition to tariffs, and getting people with working-class backgrounds into Congress.[1][2] He received 45% of the vote to Derek Schmidt's 51.2%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]