JD Leathers

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JD Leathers

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 2, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, 2015

Graduate

Webster University, 2017

Personal

Birthplace

Kansas City, MO

Religion

Agnostic

Profession

Farmer

Contact

Campaign X

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JD Leathers (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 4th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 2, 2022.

Leathers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

JD Leathers was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He earned a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville in 2015. He earned a graduate degree from Webster University in 2017. Leathers' career experience includes working as a subsistence farmer, a management consultant, and as a public policy professional. He has been affiliated with Pi Sigma Alpha, the Truman Institute, and the Democratic National Committee.

Elections

2022

See also: Missouri's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Missouri District 4

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Alford (R)	71.3	181,890
		Jack Truman (D)	26.3	67,069
		Randy Langkraehr (L)	2.4	6,117
		Darrell Leon McClanahan III (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1
	Submit photo	David Haave (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1
		Wyatt Parsons (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	1

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 255,079
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Jack Truman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jack Truman	100.0	25,641

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,641
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• JD Leathers (D)
• Anthony Osborne (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Alford	35.2	36,981
		Rick Brattin	21.4	22,509
		Kalena Bruce	15.9	16,677
		Taylor Burks	10.1	10,624
		William Irwin	9.2	9,648
		Jim Campbell	4.4	4,642
		Kyle LaBrue	3.8	4,026

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 105,107
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ryan Johnson (R)
• Sara Walsh (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Randy Langkraehr advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Langkraehr	100.0	426

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 426
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

JD Leathers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Leathers' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

JD Leathers is a polymath, consultant and subsistence farmer who served as a Traffic Commissioner for the City of Webster Groves, MO and a Public Policy Advisor for the City of Brentwood, MO.

Leathers graduated from Archie High School in 2006. Initially, he attended Missouri State University for Public Administration where he worked for the university, was President of the Missouri State College Democrats, and interned for Sen. McCaskill. Leathers then studied Public Policy as a part-time student at the University of Missouri - Saint Louis and Managed the transportation department for The Muny. Leathers graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a BS in Political Science and Geography. In 2017, he earned his Master of Management and Leadership from Webster University. Soon after, Leathers partnered to open a management consultancy firm that served clients in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Illinois. With the Covid-19 Pandemic, Leathers closed his firm and returned to farming and volunteering in the nonprofit sector.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A fresh voice of principled integrity and ethical standards
• A Midwestern advocate that is on the side of the people
• A servant of the people

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Promoting truth in reporting and ethical journalism. Repairing, replacing and modernizing physical infrastructure. Bringing medical services back to rural America. Expanding public water and wastewater networks into rural America. Broadband and telecommunication modernization and expansion to provide real access to telephone and internet services. Reform on ammunition and after-market accessory regulations. Modernization and reform of law enforcement agencies and practices. Protecting women's rights and their choice in contraception and the legality of abortions. Supports freethought and the freedom to practice or not practice a religion or faith. Supports protecting the secular nature of the American government.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I admire Jason Kander and would like to follow the example of Mel Carnahan. Secretary Kander exhibits strong moral fortitude. Governor Carnahan nearly always made decisions based on their efficacy and effectiveness for all his constituents.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

JD is an academic person that puts what he learns to real-world tests. He has the integrity to follow through with issues that he speaks too. JD has a moral code based on the ideas of a more perfect union.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

1) Uphold your oath of office. 2) Listen to you constituents and advocate for them. 3) Make decisions based on what is the best option for the entire constituency.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Persian Gulf War/Desert Storm, aged 3.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Toksvig's Almanac: An Eclectic Meander Through the Historical Year by Sandi Toksvig. This almanac tell factual stories and folk stories about women throughout history that are largely left out of traditional history education. It also chronicles historical events and holidays that have deeper meanings than you would expect.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

I believe that as a country, we all need to relearn how to work towards a common, greater good and avoid our tribalism. This means we all need to understand the same reality and facts. The global climate crisis will have a major negative affect on the United States. It is all of our responsibility to find ways to make the damage that we will incur, less.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The Energy and Commerce, Armed Services, Natural Resources, Veterans’ Affairs, Ethics, Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Education and Labor Committees.

The Joint Committee on Taxation, and the Joint Committee on the Library.

The Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe compromise is a desirable method of policymaking. However, it is not necessary, and should not be attempted by one group only. If there is to be a compromise, all parties must share in the compromise.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2022 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. House Missouri District 4

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Footnotes

[show]

Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Josh Hawley (R)

Eric Schmitt (R)

Representatives

District 1

Wesley Bell (D)

District 2

Ann Wagner (R)

District 3

Bob Onder (R)

District 4

Mark Alford (R)

District 5

Emanuel Cleaver (D)

District 6

Sam Graves (R)

District 7

Eric Burlison (R)

District 8

Jason Smith (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (2)