Marine veteran and GOP state Sen. Rick Brattin will take on Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in Missouri’s newly-gerrymandered 5th District, making him a likely new member of Congress this fall.
Brattin, who has served on and off in the state legislature since 2011, bested a crowded Republican field on Tuesday, boosted by an eleventh-hour endorsement from President Donald Trump and support from GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Brattin and several other Republicans in the crowded primary spent much of the race battling to be seen as the most conservative candidate. He dubbed himself a “MAGA warrior” in campaign advertising, flexing his pro-gun and anti-abortion stances.
Missouri Republicans passed a new Congressional map last September that carved up Cleaver’s district, making it a likely pickup for the GOP in November. The map has survived repeated legal challenges despite Democrats’ best efforts to block it.
There is still a chance that Missouri takes up a statewide referendum to block the gerrymander, but appears for now that the newly drawn district will stand at least for the next Congress — and that Brattin will be headed to Washington.
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