U.S. House · Missouri's 6th District

Northern Missouri, stretching from the Kansas City area's northern suburbs across rural north Missouri to the Iowa border.

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 22 claims re-checked against their sources

A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.

This is an open seat: incumbent Sam Graves, first elected in 2000, retired from public office and did not appear on the August 4, 2026 Republican primary ballot. Chris Stigall defeated four other Republicans (Jim Ingram, Cody Oshel, Nathanael Schultz and Nathan Willett) in that primary. Josh Smead won a three-candidate Democratic primary over Matthew Levine and Scot Pondelick. Andy Maidment advanced unopposed in the Libertarian primary. The Cook Political Report rated the district R+13 for the 2026 cycle.[1]

On the ballot · 3 candidates

Chris StigallR

Raised $599K · spent $433K · $166K cash on hand (through 2026-07-15) FEC filing ↗

Josh SmeadD

Raised $72K · spent $55K · $17K cash on hand (through 2026-07-15) FEC filing ↗

Andy MaidmentLIB

Where they stand — side by side

Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.

ISSUE	Chris Stigall R	Josh Smead D	Andy Maidment LIB
Protect legal access to abortion	Opposes[2]	—	—
Stricter gun laws	Opposes[2]	—	—
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations	Supports[2]	—	—
Raise taxes on high earners or corporations	Opposes[2]	—	—
Broad tariffs on imported goods	Mixed[2]	—	—

The candidates, in full

Chris Stigall

Won a five-candidate August 4, 2026 Republican primary for this open seat

Chris Stigall is the Republican nominee for the open Missouri 6th District seat. His campaign describes support for President Trump's agenda on immigration, taxes, agriculture, gun rights and opposition to abortion.[1][2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Positions on the issues

OpposesStricter gun laws
Says the Second Amendment "is not negotiable" and he will oppose efforts to restrict gun rights through federal overreach.[2]
OpposesProtect legal access to abortion
Says he is "proudly pro-life" and will oppose taxpayer funding for abortion while supporting efforts to protect "innocent life," though he notes abortion policy is increasingly decided at the state level.[2]
OpposesRaise taxes on high earners or corporations
Supports making President Trump's tax cuts permanent and opposes raising taxes on families, farmers and small businesses.[2]
SupportsExpand immigration enforcement and deportations
Supports securing the border, finishing the border wall, ending catch-and-release policies, deporting people with criminal records who are in the country illegally, and the SAVE Act's citizenship voting requirement.[2]
MixedBroad tariffs on imported goods
Supports President Trump's efforts to expand market access and strengthen domestic food production for farmers, without a direct statement on general tariff policy.[2]

In their words — priorities

Campaign website lists the Second Amendment, rural healthcare, life, taxes, agriculture, cryptocurrency/financial freedom, and immigration/the SAVE Act as his core campaign issues.[2]

Campaign money

Raised $599K · spent $433K · $166K cash on hand (through 2026-07-15) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Josh Smead

Won the August 4, 2026 Democratic primary

Josh Smead is the Democratic nominee for the open Missouri 6th District seat. A licensed architect and small-business owner from Liberty, Missouri, he is campaigning on revitalizing rural north Missouri and term limits.[1][3]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

In their words — priorities

Family: says Missouri should be the best place in the country to raise a family, with safe communities, strong schools, affordable healthcare and local economies that work for everyday people.[3]
Liberty/limited government: says he'll fight for term limits, defend the Constitution, and reduce red tape and federal overreach that he says chokes opportunity for small businesses.[3]
Rural revitalization: says north Missouri needs a "generational investment" in infrastructure, from schools and roads to bridges, to restore the region's economic vibrancy.[3]

Background

Is a father of four; a licensed architect who runs a local architecture and development firm with his wife in Liberty, Missouri.[3]

Campaign money

Raised $72K · spent $55K · $17K cash on hand (through 2026-07-15) FEC filing ↗

Shareable profile page

Andy Maidment

LIB

Advanced unopposed in the August 4, 2026 Libertarian primary

Andy Maidment is the Libertarian Party nominee for the open Missouri 6th District seat.[1]

Little public record found for this candidate.

Shareable profile page

Research notes & limits

This is an open seat; Sam Graves, who has held it since 2001, retired and did not run. Neither major-party nominee has previously held elected office, so neither has an official governmental record; positions rely on campaign-website and survey statements.

Sources · 3

Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.

1.United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
2.Chris Stigall - campaign website statement · Chris Stigall campaign website (via Ballotpedia) · 2026 Candidate's own words
3.Josh Smead - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2025 Candidate's own words