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Missouri's 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Republican primary)

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← 2024
Missouri's 7th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 31, 2026
Primary: August 4, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Missouri

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Missouri's 7th Congressional District
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th
Missouri elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Republican Party primary takes place on August 4, 2026, in Missouri's 7th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 31, 2026
August 4, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Missouri utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Missouri's 7th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 7

Incumbent Eric Burlison (R), John Casey (R), and Grayson Hunt (R) are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 7 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Eric Burlison
Eric Burlison
Image of John Casey
John Casey  Candidate Connection
Image of Grayson Hunt
Grayson Hunt  Candidate Connection

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.

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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

John Casey

Image of John Casey

WebsiteFacebookYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

As a Missouri construction worker, I’ve seen jobsites where 50-80% of the crew speaks little or no English. I’ve personally witnessed near-fatal accidents because critical safety instructions weren’t understood. Simple fixes become impossible when an entire crew can’t communicate with me or each other. Whole trades in our state are being overtaken by low-wage foreign labor—legal and illegal—driving down pay and pushing lifelong Missouri tradesmen out of the jobs they built their lives around. We deserve real, dignified enforcement against illegal immigration and serious reform of a legal immigration system riddled with fraud. Protect American workers, protect workplace safety, and put Missouri families first—without losing our humanity.

Healthcare and credit card interest - As a father of four boys, healthcare costs have crushed us. Premiums and deductibles have eaten most of my paycheck—forcing me to quit a good job because I couldn’t opt out and the bills kept piling up. I could take $2 less per hour elsewhere, skip insurance, and still come out ahead. Surgeries, illnesses, and uncovered costs drove us deep into credit-card debt. We need more healthcare options and real competition to lower costs for families—not bankruptcy. We also need a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates. These predatory rates keep millions in debt slavery. Missouri families shouldn’t go broke keeping their kids healthy.

Foreign Influence - Proud Americans deserve leaders who answer only to us-not bought and paid for by any foreign nation. No more 20-year wars. No more 20-year “memorandums of understanding” that tie our hands while others profit. We must purge all foreign influence from our government and our media. End the endless river of foreign aid and reinvest every dollar in American communities and American families. How can a supposed ally’s leader come here, lobby influencers, and openly call our free press an “8th front” in his war—an 8th front aimed at the American people? And where is my congressman, who demanded billions for that same nation, now that our sovereignty is mocked in plain sight? We demand loyalty. America first, last, and always

Grayson Hunt

Image of Grayson Hunt

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Grayson B. Hunt is a lifelong Missourian, public servant, and community-focused Republican running for the U.S. House to represent Missouri’s 7th Congressional District. Born and raised in Greene County, Grayson built his career from the ground up, becoming a branch manager at just 22 years old and later leading one of the highest-performing financial offices in the state. His background includes managing diverse teams, streamlining operations, and helping thousands of Missouri families navigate financial challenges with honesty and transparency. Grayson currently works in the insurance and financial protection industry, where he focuses on helping working families secure life, accident, and supplemental coverage. As someone who understands the strain of rising costs, corporate overreach, and government inefficiency, he believes Congress needs leaders who know how everyday Missourians actually live — not career politicians disconnected from real problems. Grayson is running for Congress to strengthen fiscal responsibility, protect individual freedoms, support small businesses, and make sure federal policies benefit the people of Southwest Missouri first. He stands for limited government, strong oversight of federal agencies, responsible budgeting, and a renewed focus on community wellbeing. His commitment is simple: put Missourians first, listen before acting, and bring integrity, pragmatism, and accountability back to Washington."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Economics & Affordability Families in Southwest Missouri are being squeezed from every direction — groceries, utilities, housing, and healthcare all cost more, while wages haven’t kept up. We need a federal government that stops wasting money and starts protecting taxpayers. My focus is lowering the cost of living by cutting unnecessary regulation, reducing federal waste, and creating an economy that rewards work, not bureaucracy.

Accessible, Affordable Healthcare Too many Missourians fall through the cracks — they make too much for government programs, can’t get coverage through an employer, and are forced into overpriced plans that don’t meet real needs. Healthcare shouldn’t bankrupt a family. I support increasing competition, lowering premiums through transparency, and expanding access to dependable private plans so individuals and families can get real, affordable coverage.

Public Safety Safe communities are the backbone of a strong economy and strong families. Missouri deserves law enforcement that’s supported, trained, and equipped — not undermined. At the same time, we need to strengthen mental-health resources, fight drug trafficking, and address rising crime with real consequences. I believe in protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens while ensuring every neighborhood has the security it needs to thrive.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Missouri

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Eric Burlison Republican Party $757,339 $498,902 $859,825 As of September 30, 2025
John Casey Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Grayson Hunt Republican Party $2,638 $2,638 $0 As of December 31, 2025

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting ahead of the 2026 election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map used in the 2024 election next to the map in place for the 2026 election. Click on a map below to enlarge it. Error: One or both images not found for the specified years.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+21. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 21 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Missouri's 7th the 25th most Republican district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Missouri's 7th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
28.4%69.7%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Missouri, 2024

Missouri presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 14 Democratic wins
  • 18 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D R R D D R R R D D D D D R D D D R R D R R R D D R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Missouri state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Missouri's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Missouri
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 2 2
Republican 2 6 8
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 8 10

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Missouri's top four state executive offices as October 2025.

State executive officials in Missouri, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Mike Kehoe
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party David Wasinger
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Denny Hoskins
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Catherine Hanaway

State legislature

Missouri State Senate

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 10
     Republican Party 24
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 34

Missouri House of Representatives

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 52
     Republican Party 106
     Other 0
     Vacancies 5
Total 163

Trifecta control

Missouri Party Control: 1992-2025
Eight years of Democratic trifectas  •  Thirteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Missouri in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Missouri, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Missouri U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A 300 3/31/2026 Source
Missouri U.S. House Unaffiliated 2% of votes cast for the office in the last election, or 10,000, whichever is less N/A 7/27/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Missouri Revisor of Statutes, "Mo. Rev. Stat. § 115.397," accessed November 4, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Josh Hawley (R)
Eric Schmitt (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
Bob Onder (R)
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Republican Party (8)
Democratic Party (2)


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