Missouri: who should earn your vote for Congress in 2026

Opinion · The paper’s scorecard

Missouri: every race for Congress on the 3 November 2026 ballot, and how the candidates measure up against our standards.

Sitting and former members are scored on the same key votes, read from the official House and Senate roll calls; each vote links to the record. Candidates who have never served in Congress have no votes to score, and outside the battlegrounds we have not researched them, so they are marked as not scored. Where only one candidate could be measured, the mark rates that record on its own; it is not a verdict on the opponent. How the marks work · All states

District 1 D+29

No mark

Wesley Bell

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total -1

✗Smaller government
✗Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (5)

Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted for ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted for the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Against us (6)

Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted against the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Paul Berry

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 2 R+4

✓ Meets our standards: Ann Wagner

Meets our standards

Ann Wagner

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 26 key votes · total +3

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (16)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (10)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source
Voted against the amendment requiring a warrant to search Americans' communications under FISA Section 702 (it failed 212-212). Source

Fred Wellman

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 3 R+13

Leans our way: Bob Onder

Bethany Mann

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Leans our way

Bob Onder

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

District 4 R+21

✓ Meets our standards: Mark Alford

Meets our standards

Mark Alford

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 21 key votes · total +5

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (14)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (7)

Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
Voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source
Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Jordan Herrera

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 5 D+12

No mark

Rick Brattin

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Emanuel Cleaver

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 26 key votes · total -4

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (8)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Against us (18)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

District 6 R+19

No mark

Sam Graves (R): incumbent retiring.

Josh Smead

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Chris Stigall

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 7 R+21

✓ Meets our standards: Eric Burlison

Meets our standards

Eric Burlison

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 21 key votes · total +6

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
~Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (16)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Missi Hesketh

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 8 R+27

✓ Meets our standards: Jason Smith

Chris Reichard

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Meets our standards

Jason Smith

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +2

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (17)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (10)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

Photo credits. Official congressional portraits are works of the U.S. government and in the public domain. Others:

Wesley Bell: Brian Thorpe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (file)