Missouri's 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Missouri's 8th 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 8th 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 Democratic Party primary takes place on August 4, 2026, in Missouri's 8th Congressional District to determine which Democratic 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 8th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican 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

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 8

Frank Barnitz (D), Gerald Cass (D), Clayton Harbison (D), and Christopher Reichard (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 8 on August 4, 2026.

Candidate
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Frank Barnitz
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Gerald Cass
Image of Clayton Harbison
Clayton Harbison
Image of Christopher Reichard
Christopher Reichard  Candidate Connection

There are no incumbents in this race.

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.

Christopher Reichard

Image of Christopher Reichard

Facebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Chris Reichard was born in small town Tennessee, and raised in the Greater-St. Louis region of Missouri. With humble roots that straddled lower and middle economic hurdles, he joined the work force at 16 aiming to improve his life. At 18 he shipped off for the Army where he served three tours in Iraq over his 8+ years of service. Afterword, he continued to build upon what he had learned in the Army by joining the construction field: first in Houston, TX where he worked a non-union position in the Telecommunications construction field, then a few years later the opportunity arose for him to return home and join IBEW Local 1. It was there that he truly experienced the significance unions have in uplifting the working class and achieving affordability in an increasingly unaffordable world. Now, he is stepping up to serve his state and his country once again. From his staunch belief in diplomacy first, to strengthening the working class, his work aims to bridge party lines and improve the lives for all Americans."

Key Messages

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

Chris’s primary goal is to strengthen the working class by removing restrictions that have held back unions since 1947. When unions are stronger, every American worker benefits.

Chris’s secondary goal is to restore departments and programs that were cut that have harmed American families, farms, and futures. This includes re-establishing healthy trade policies within the global market.

Chris strives to protect and defend the Constitution. As such, he aims to re-establish and reinforce the checks and balances of the three co-equal branches of government.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Missouri

Election information in Missouri: Aug. 4, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: July 8, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by July 8, 2026
  • Online: July 8, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 3, 2026
  • By mail: Received by July 22, 2026
  • Online: July 22, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 4, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Aug. 4, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

July 21, 2026 to Aug. 3, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Frank Barnitz Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Gerald Cass Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Clayton Harbison Democratic Party $2,124 $1,004 $1,119 As of December 31, 2025
Christopher Reichard Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

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.

2024

2023_01_03_mo_congressional_district_08.jpg

2026

2027_01_03_mo_congressional_district_08.jpeg
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+27. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 27 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Missouri's 8th the 7th 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 8th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
23.6%74.7%

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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