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Josh Smead

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Josh Smead
Democratic Party
Candidate, U.S. House Missouri District 6
Elections and appointments
Next election
August 4, 2026
Education
High school
Harrisonburg High School
Bachelor's
James Madison University, 2012
Graduate
Iowa State University, 2016
Personal
Profession
Architect
Contact
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign Instagram
Campaign YouTube
Personal X

Josh Smead (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.[source]

Smead completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Josh Smead graduated from Harrisonburg High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from James Madison University in 2012 and a graduate degree from Iowa State University in 2016. His career experience includes working as an architect and general contractor.[1]

Elections

2026

See also: Missouri's 6th Congressional District election, 2026

Missouri's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)

Missouri's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Republican primary)

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 6

Matthew Levine and Josh Smead are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 6 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Matthew Levine
Matthew Levine Candidate Connection
Image of Josh Smead
Josh Smead Candidate Connection

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 6

Incumbent Sam Graves, Jim Ingram, and Gena Ross are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 6 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Sam Graves
Sam Graves
Image of Jim Ingram
Jim Ingram Candidate Connection
Image of Gena Ross
Gena Ross

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = 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 is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Josh Smead completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smead's responses.

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I’m Josh Smead, a father of four, licensed architect, and small business owner from Liberty, Missouri. My wife and I run a local architecture and development firm, and we’re raising our family with a deep commitment to building a better future. I’m not a career politician—I’m running for Congress to bring practical solutions and common sense to Washington. Rural North Missouri used to be more populated and economically vibrant; today, it needs revitalization. I believe in making rural America the best place to raise a family again, with strong infrastructure, thriving small towns, and opportunities that last for generations.
  • Family Everything I do is grounded in my role as a father of four. I believe Missouri should be the best place in the country to raise a family. That starts with safe communities, strong schools, affordable healthcare, and local economies that work for everyday people—not just the coasts or the corporations. When we put families first, we lay the foundation for a stronger, more united America.
  • Liberty As a small business owner and architect, I’ve seen firsthand how red tape and federal overreach can choke opportunity. Liberty means more than a slogan—it’s the right to build a life with dignity, to speak freely, work honestly, and live without government standing in your way. I’ll fight for term limits, defend the Constitution, and make sure Washington works for the people again.
  • Future North Missouri once thrived—more people, more energy, more opportunity. We can get there again, but it takes vision. That means revitalizing our rural towns, investing in modern infrastructure, and making sure our kids grow up with every chance to succeed. I’m running because we owe the next generation more than declining towns and broken promises—we owe them a future worth staying for.
I’m deeply passionate about public policies that secure a better future for the next generation while honoring the generations that built this country. As a father and a builder, I see both the promise ahead and the urgent need to care for those who came before us. We must ensure our children inherit a nation with strong schools, safe communities, and lasting opportunity—and that our seniors live with dignity, support, and respect.

As an architect, my personal expertise lies in buildings and infrastructure. From crumbling schools, roads, and bridges to outdated infrastructure, northern Missouri’s built environment needs more than patchwork fixes—it needs a generational investment in quality, sustainability, and resilience. The recent in
Integrity, Term Limits, and listening to the People.
If I set my mind to a task, I seek to achieve it.
The purpose of the House is to be the most responsive branch of government for the People!
I hope some day when my children or (possible) future grand children ask what I did during this time of turmoil and uncertainty in our world, I will tell them running for Congress is how I tried to make the biggest impact. I want to leave the world a better place.
I was in 6th grade during 9/11, not a fun day at school!
My first job was at 15 working at a McDonalds.
If I Can Dream - Elvis Presley
No, the purpose of our Democracy is that it is run by the People. New voices, fresh perspectives, and a new generation of leaders are needed in Washington more now than perhaps ever before. The Constitution clearly states the age limits for running for office, which is 25 years old for the House (I was born in 1990).
Income Inequality, imperial hostile foreign powers, balancing the budget, natural disasters
Yes, but term limits are needed to prevent these long-term careers.
Term limits are necessary and long overdue. The House of Representatives is not a career path, we need responsive government that is in touch with the People.
I have been studying and have found a great deal of respect for the late Jerry Litton, former Representative from Missouri's 6th District. His method of bringing Democracy to the People through his town halls (many which can be seen now on YouTube) is incredibly inspiring, and I would like to believe we can all strive to achieve a similar level of dialogue and transparency with our government.
When I first started getting organized with my campaign, one of the first people I heard from was a man who is a Veteran and had just been fired from his job at the VA. Literally a Veteran helping Veterans, and he was fired because the Trump administration decided to mass fire and cut services for the men and women who made the sacrifice to serve in the Military. I cannot understand why we are cutting jobs and services for Veterans, all to pay for a tax cut for the billionaires.
Yes, it is often necessary for lasting policy.
The overreaching Executive branch needs to be placed back in line with the language of the Constitution. We the People deserve a Representative who understands the importance of our Constitution and has loyalty to Country over political party.
The House needs to be investigating clear unconstitutional violations of the Separation of Powers for our Three Co-Equal branches of Government. The purpose of investigating power in the House is not to tear down political foes, but to examine and shine light on important topics for the American people. A shining example of the House using bipartisan investigations to bring important issues to the American people is the January 6th Committee and their informative and successful hearings.
Highly important and always will be. Following a trail of money leads to a lot of important answers!

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

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.

Josh Smead campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026* U.S. House Missouri District 6Candidacy Declared primary$25,991 $16,660
Grand total$25,991 $16,660
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election 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

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

Candidate

U.S. House Missouri District 6
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 25, 2025


    Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
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    Eric Schmitt (R)
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    Bob Onder (R)
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