Trump makes 11th-hour endorsement in race for gerrymandered Kansas City seat

Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on Aug 3, 2026

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Donald Trump on Monday threw his weight behind state Sen. Rick Brattin’s campaign for Kansas City’s new gerrymandered congressional district on the eve of the Republican primary.

Trump announced his decision on his own social media site a little more than 12 hours before polls open for Tuesday’s primary election. Trump called the Harrisonville Republican a “MAGA Warrior.”

“Rick Brattin has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Missouri’s 5th Congressional District — RICK WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the Republican president wrote.

The coveted endorsement comes less than a year after Missouri lawmakers redrew the 5th District under pressure from Trump amid a nationwide redistricting blitz. The goal of the effort was to ease a path for Republicans to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who is seeking his 12th term in Congress.

Brattin had long signaled a Trump endorsement might be imminent. The Republican state senator immediately seized on the announcement Monday evening and sent out a news release touting Trump’s backing.

The state legislator has represented Cass County in both the Missouri Senate and House. He also served as auditor of Cass County.

During his time in the Senate, Brattin was previously a member of the Conservative Caucus, which later rebranded as the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-charging lawmakers that frequently quarreled with GOP leadership.

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 voted in favor of the new congressional map that redrew Kansas City’s 5th District.

Six Republicans lined up for a chance to run for the district, which stretches east from Kansas City’s Troost Avenue to the rural cities and towns spread across central Missouri. The race includes Taylor Burks, Brad Patty, Brett Hueffmeier, Berton Knox and Micah Beebe.

Tuesday’s primary election comes amid lingering questions about the fate of Missouri’s new congressional map. Opponents last year turned in more than 300,000 signatures to strike it down at the ballot box through a mechanism in Missouri law called a referendum.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican and Brattin ally, has until tomorrow to decide whether to certify that referendum campaign for the November ballot, a decision that would have seismic ramifications for the map.

If the new map remains in place, the Republican nominee for the 5th District will have to win over a broad swath of urban, suburban and rural voters. The race has national implications as Trump and Republicans seek to hold onto a slim majority in Congress and pick up seven of Missouri’s eight districts.

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