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Fourteen primaries are contested in Missouri this year — the second-highest number since 2014

By

Briana Ryan

This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri was March 31, 2026.

These are the first elections to take place since the Missouri General Assembly passed a new congressional map. The Missouri House of Representatives passed it on Sept. 9, 2025. The Missouri Senate passed it on Sept. 12, 2025. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed the new congressional map into law on Sept. 28, 2025.

This year has the second-highest number of contested primaries since 2014. In total, 14 primaries — six Democratic and eight Republican — are contested this year. In total, there were 12 contested primaries in 2024, 14 in 2022, 10 in 2020, 11 in 2018, 13 in 2016, and 10 in 2014.

Incumbents — one Democrat and five Republicans — are running in six of those primaries. There were five incumbents in contested primaries in 2024, six in 2022, six in 2020, five in 2018, eight in 2016, and five in 2014.

One district is open this year because the district’s incumbent — Rep. Sam Graves (R-6th) — is retiring from public office. There was one open district in 2024, two in 2022, none in 2020, none in 2018, none in 2016, and none in 2014.

The 4th Congressional District has attracted the most candidates. Ten candidates — Rep. Mark Alford (R), two other Republicans, and seven Democrats — are running for the district.

Fifty-three candidates — 25 Democrats and 28 Republicans — are running for Missouri’s eight congressional districts. That’s 6.6 candidates per district. There were 5.4 candidates per district in 2024, 7.1 in 2022, five in 2020, 4.9 in 2018, 5.6 in 2016, and 4.5 in 2014.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all eight districts, meaning no districts are guaranteed to either party.

Missouri and four other states — Kansas, Michigan, Virginia, and Washington— are holding U.S. House primaries on Aug. 4, 2026.

In Missouri, the winner of a primary election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast for that office, even if they do not receive an outright majority of votes.