John Bowman (Missouri)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

John Bowman

Independent

Education

Associate

Vatterott College, 2014

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Personal

Birthplace

Omaha, Neb.

Religion

Non-Denominational

Profession

Engineer

Contact

Personal Facebook

John Bowman (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 5th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 5, 2024.

Bowman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John Bowman was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Bowman's professional experience includes working as an engineer. He began serving in the U.S. Navy in 2009. Bowman earned an associate degree from Vatterott College in 2014.

Elections

2024

See also: Missouri's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Missouri's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Democratic primary)

Missouri's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Missouri District 5

Incumbent Emanuel Cleaver defeated Sean Smith, Bill Wayne, and Michael Day in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Emanuel Cleaver (D)	60.2	199,900
		Sean Smith (R)	36.4	120,957
		Bill Wayne (L)	2.0	6,658
		Michael Day (G)	1.3	4,414

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,929
= 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Bowman (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5

Incumbent Emanuel Cleaver advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Emanuel Cleaver	100.0	65,248

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,248
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5

Sean Smith advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Smith	100.0	32,574

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,574
= 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.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5

Bill Wayne advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 5 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Wayne	100.0	340

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 340
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bowman in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Bowman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bowman's 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.

I'm a Navy veteran and current reservist looking to change the way Missouri's 5th district is represented. The United States of America started with "We The People" and that's exact where we need to be. No platforms, no agendas, no big pharma; just the voice of an average Joe speaking for the rest of the Joe's and Jane's.

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?

• We the people; what do you want? Bring democracy back not personal opinions.
• How can someone speak for you when they don't live like you. The rich never have the best interest for the middle class or poor.
• It's time for change! Almost 20 years has passed and we need a fresh face with new ideas. It's time for the younger generation to represent themselves.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm passionate about listening to people. I think we have strayed away from our delegates representing the people they were elected by and need to get back on that track. To many people or companies whisper in the ears of those on the hill that are suppose to be listening to your needs or desires.

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

My parents; they are still madly in love, never lost their sense of humor, and constantly remind me that without them I wouldn't be who I am today.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, empathy, ability to think and shift views, willing to listen, and putting aside personal feelings or opinions and truly act on behalf of the people.

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

I'm honest and open, I have the ability to listen and shift my views, I can admit when I'm wrong and learn from that, My military background had given me a sense of duty and understanding of our constitution.

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

Listen to your district and be their voice. The whole reason they are call "representatives" is because they are suppose to represent their district, not there personal agenda.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That people took the office back into their hands. That someone spoke up and acted on behalf of them like a true democracy should be. For someone to look back and not remember me from a political party but by name for the deeds I did for my district.

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

The first one that I remember that had significant remembrance to me would be 9/11. I was 16 at the time and I just seemed so unreal that day and all the days after.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Hy-vee in Gladstone, MO working as a bagger. I stayed there a few more years going to cashier then frozen dairy stocker.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Pretty People by Dillion Francis

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Learning how to take control of my life and be a better person. Being open and honest with others in the face of fear or doubt.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Representatives introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments and serve on committees.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I would say it's beneficial not not necessary. It's similar to job experience; yes it might make you seem like a better candidate on paper for a job but sometimes the person who has more to learn will end up giving more back to the company.

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

At our current path I think human rights and economical growth.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I feel this should be a little bit higher, possibly 4 years to match the Senate. In 2 years time your spending most of that getting acquainted to job and the people, it can leave leave little time to make progress.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

There should definitely be term limits. Career politicians were never suppose to be a thing but we have some people on capital hill that have been in place for over 20-30 years and are well past a cognitive age point.

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

Absolutely! I think that is what make the 2 party system so hard. Republicans refuse to shift their ideals towards Democrats and the Democrats do the same thing. You should be willing to compromise and not have your our opinions matter when policies are effecting your constituents.

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.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Bowman campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Missouri District 5	Withdrew general	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2024 Elections

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Government

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External links

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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)