Meet the 8 candidates running for KC's gerrymandered congressional district

Less than a year after Missouri lawmakers carved up Kansas City’s main congressional district under pressure from the Trump administration, six Republicans and one Libertarian are now running to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

The new 5th Congressional District boundaries were designed to ease a path for Republicans to force out Cleaver, who has represented Kansas City in Congress since 2005. The district stretches east from Kansas City’s Troost Avenue to the rural cities and towns spread across central Missouri.

Candidates running for the 5th District will have to represent a broad swath of urban, suburban and rural voters, including eastern Kansas City and places hours away such as Jefferson City, the state’s capital city. The field is as follows.

Brad Patty

Campaign website: https://bradpatty.com/

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Brad Patty’s campaign for Congress has centered around his background in the U.S. Army, where he served for 25 years.

A political newcomer who lives in Fayette, Patty holds both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Liberty University. During his military career, he deployed to Iraq, according to a news release from his campaign.

Other information voters should know:

When he announced his run, Patty said his campaign would focus on three core priorities: bringing the discipline of his military service to Washington, fighting for affordability for families and pushing the government to be more accountable.

Patty’s website expands his priorities to include a desire to pursue an “American First” agenda, securing the southern border with Mexico, fighting against abortion and cutting taxes.

Brett Hueffmeier

Campaign website: https://brettformissouri.com/

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Political newcomer Brett Hueffmeier launched his campaign for Congress last year with a promise to provide a “new vision” and lead the district “toward ambitious renewal.”

Hueffmeier’s campaign website states that he was born in Linneus, a small city in northern Missouri. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and received a law degree from St. Louis University, according to his website.

Described as a university professor, business executive and education administrator, Hueffmeier taught business ethics and law at St. Louis University. He also served as the university’s dean of educational programs in China, according to his website.

Other information voters should know:

Hueffmeier has outlined a policy agenda that combines housing affordability and trade policies with conservative hot-button issues such as clamping down on transgender athletes in sports and gun rights.

The first prong of his agenda centers on the price of homes. Hueffmeier, on his website, promises to reduce “unnecessary regulations” on new, single-family homes and vows to create incentives for developers to build homes faster.

In addition to housing, Hueffmeier’s website also mentions reversing a decline in rural hospitals, supporting President Donald Trump’s trade policies, expanding healthcare for veterans, fighting against abortion and defending gun rights.

Taylor Burks

Campaign website: https://burksforcongress.com/

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Taylor Burks, a former Boone County clerk and U.S. Navy veteran, has built his campaign for Congress around his military background and mid-Missouri upbringing.

Burks, who lives in Boone County, spent several years in active duty and currently serves as a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He has received degrees from Truman State University, the University of Oklahoma and Washington University in St. Louis, according to his Linkedin profile.

In 2017, former Gov. Eric Greitens appointed Burks to serve as the clerk for Boone County, where he oversaw elections until December 2018. Burks ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2022, losing to U.S. Rep. Mark Alford in the Republican primary.

Other information voters should know:

Burks’ campaign website lays out his policy agenda, which he said builds on his experience in the Navy.

“Missourians deserve a strong leader who will stand up and fight for individual liberty, limited government, and fiscal responsibility,” his website says.

That nine-pronged policy agenda includes a promise to “restore integrity in our elections” and a need to balance protections related to the artificial intelligence industry with a desire to win the “AI race.”

Burks has also campaigned on stopping abortions, building new infrastructure and boosting the state’s agricultural industry. The former clerk has also been a vocal defender of Kansas City’s new congressional district, which Republicans redrew last year.

Rick Brattin

Campaign website: https://rickbrattin.com/

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Rick Brattin, a Missouri state senator, has represented Cass County in both the Missouri Senate and House. He also served as auditor of Cass County.

A graduate of Lee’s Summit High School, Brattin served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps. After leaving the military, he founded a construction business, according to his Senate profile.

During his time in the Senate, Brattin previously served as a member of the Conservative Caucus, which rebranded as the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-charging lawmakers that pushed GOP leadership to be more conservative.

Other information voters should know:

Brattin has built his campaign around a promise to fight for “conservative values,” including President Donald Trump, gun rights, anti-abortion causes and other hot-button issues.

His campaign website outlines seven policy issues, including removing “the woke agenda” from schools, pushing back against rising costs and promoting Trump’s immigration agenda.

Brattin has been one of the most vocal Republicans in the Missouri Senate during his time in the legislature, especially related to the issue of abortion.

Earlier this year, Brattin tore into the Missouri Supreme Court in a lengthy speech after the court struck down a law designed to fight abortion access, leading to the cancellation of the court’s annual State of the Judiciary address. He also pushed for his colleagues to weaken the state’s main form of direct democracy to halt a vote on abortion rights in 2024.

As a state senator, Brattin also voted in favor of the new congressional map that redrew the district he is running for.

Berton A. Knox

Campaign website: N/A

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Berton A. Knox has shared very little about his campaign for Congress online. Knox previously ran unsuccessfully for the 5th District in 2014 and 2016.

He does not appear to have an active campaign website.

Other information voters should know:

In an interview with The Star about endorsements in the race, Knox said he has not been attending candidate forums after a poor experience in a previous campaign.

He said during that interview that he planned to release a website so voters could understand his policy positions.

Micah Beebe

Campaign website: https://www.beebeforcongress.com/

Incumbent: No

Party: Republican

Political bio:

Micah Beebe’s website states that he grew up in Kansas City and built a career “navigating complex, high-stakes real estate transactions.”

He is currently a commercial broker for KW Commercial and a real estate broker for Beebe Commercial Group Advisors, according to his Linkedin profile. A review of Ballotpedia shows that Beebe previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Texas in 2016.

Other information voters should know:

Beebe’s website lays out his six-item policy agenda, which he describes as “bold conservative solutions.”

His No. 1 priority is centered around economic relief and “fiscal sanity,” which includes voting against all tax increases and fighting against government spending. His policies would also include rural health care access, border security, gun rights, boosting agriculture and defending “faith, family and parental rights.”

Emanuel Cleaver II

Campaign website: https://www.cleaver4congress.com/

Incumbent: Yes

Party: Democrat

Political bio:

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has represented Kansas City in Congress since 2005 and has served as one of the state’s most influential lawmakers.

A United Methodist preacher by trade, Cleaver was the senior pastor at St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City from 1972 until 2009. He was elected as the first Black mayor of Kansas City, a position he held from 1991 until 1999. He also chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 2011 and 2013.

Other information voters should know:

Throughout his 11 terms in Congress, Cleaver has been hailed for his focus on affordable housing and for bringing money back to his district.

In 2024, for example, Cleaver announced nearly $19 million for the 5th District, including funding for public safety, economic development and infrastructure projects. This year, he secured more than $15 million for projects in cities across the region.

As Missouri lawmakers prepared to vote on a plan to gerrymander Cleaver out of his district last year, the longtime congressman gave an impassioned speech condemning the effort.

“I hope all of us understand that decades and decades will be damaged by what goes on here,” Cleaver testified before the Missouri Senate. “Chaos has found us. It has finally found us.”

Randall (Randy) Langkraehr

Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/randylangkraehr

Incumbent: No

Party: Libertarian

Political bio:

Randy Langkraehr currently serves as the vice chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party. He was born in Kansas City and raised in the small city of Emma, Missouri, located along Interstate 70, according to his profile on Ballotpedia.

Langkraehr earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Missouri, according to his Linkedin profile. That profile describes him as president of Metro East Realty, Inc. and owner of Davken Company.

Other information voters should know:

Langkraehr previously ran for Congress unsuccessfully in 2012, 2014 and 2022. He does not appear to have an active campaign website that lists his policy platform.

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