Missouri's 7th congressional district

Missouri's 7th congressional district
Missouri's 7th congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Eric Burlison; R–Ozark
Distribution	59.28% urban; 40.72% rural;
Population (2023)	790,923
Median household; income	$60,685
Ethnicity	82.8% White; 6.1% Hispanic; 6.0% Two or more races; 2.0% Black; 1.5% Asian; 0.9% Native American; 0.7% other;
Cook PVI	R+24

Missouri's 7th congressional district consists of Southwest Missouri. The district includes Springfield, the home of Missouri State University, the Joplin, Missouri, metropolitan area, Missouri's 5th largest, and the popular tourist destination city of Branson. Located along the borders of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Northwest Arkansas, the district occupies part of the Bible Belt with a strong socially conservative trend. George W. Bush defeated John Kerry here 67% to 32% in the 2004 election. Republican John McCain defeated Democrat Barack Obama 63.1% to 35.3% in the 2008 election. Republican and Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama 67.6% to 30.3% in the 2012 election. In the 2020 election, Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Joe Biden 69.91% to 28.93%. As of 2020, this district is the second most strongly Republican district in Missouri and is one of the most strongly Republican districts in the United States.

The district is currently represented by Republican Eric Burlison of Ozark.^[3]

Election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
2000	President	George W. Bush 62 – Al Gore 36%
2004	President	George W. Bush 67 – John Kerry 32%
2008	President	John McCain 62 – Barack Obama 35%
2012	President	Mitt Romney 68 – Barack Obama 30%
2016	President	Donald Trump 70 – Hillary Clinton 25%
2020	President	Donald Trump 70 – Joe Biden 28%

Composition

#	County	Seat	Population
9	Barry	Cassville	35,265
43	Christian	Ozark	94,422
77	Greene	Springfield	304,611
97	Jasper	Carthage	125,056
109	Lawrence	Mount Vernon	38,872
119	McDonald	Pineville	23,903
145	Newton	Neosho	60,677
209	Stone	Galena	32,658
213	Taney	Forsyth	56,775
225	Webster	Marshfield	41,472

Cities and CDPs with 10,000 or more people

Springfield – 170,188
Joplin – 51,762
Nixa – 23,257
Ozark – 21,284
Republic – 18,750
Carthage – 15,522
Webb City – 13,031
Branson – 12,638
Neosho – 12,590

2,500 – 10,000 people

Monett – 9,576
Carl Junction – 8,143
Aurora – 7,512
Willard – 6,344
Battlefield – 5,990
Hollister – 4,583
Mount Vernon – 4,526
Rogersville – 3,897
Cassville – 3,190
Clever – 2,918
Forsyth – 2,730
Strafford – 2,561
Oronogo – 2,558

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District created March 4, 1853
Samuel Caruthers (Cape Girardeau)	Whig	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd 34th 35th	Elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Retired.
	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
John W. Noell (Perryville)	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863	36th 37th	Elected in 1858. Re-elected in 1860. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Benjamin F. Loan (St. Joseph)	Union Emancipation	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	38th 39th 40th	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Lost re-election.
Benjamin F. Loan (St. Joseph)	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1869	38th 39th 40th
Joel F. Asper (Chillicothe)	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1868. Retired.
Isaac C. Parker (St. Joseph)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Redistricted to the 9th district.
Thomas T. Crittenden (Warrensburg)	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	43rd	Elected in 1872. Retired.
John F. Philips (Sedalia)	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Lost re-election.
Thomas T. Crittenden (Warrensburg)	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879	45th	Elected in 1876. Retired.
Alfred M. Lay (Jefferson City)	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – December 8, 1879	46th	Elected in 1878. Died.
Vacant		December 8, 1879 – January 26, 1880
John F. Philips (Sedalia)	Democratic	January 26, 1880 – March 3, 1881		Elected to finish Lay's term. Lost re-election.
Theron M. Rice (Booneville)	Greenback	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883	47th	Elected in 1880. Retired.
Aylett H. Buckner (Mexico)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	Redistricted from the 13th district and re-elected in 1882. Retired.
John E. Hutton (Mexico)	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889	49th 50th	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired.
Richard H. Norton (Troy)	Democratic	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893	51st 52nd	Elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Lost re-election.
John T. Heard (Sedalia)	Democratic	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895	53rd	Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1892. Lost re-election.
John P. Tracey (Springfield)	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	54th	Elected in 1894. Lost re-election.
James Cooney (Marshall)	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903	55th 56th 57th	Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Lost renomination.
Courtney W. Hamlin (Springfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905	58th	Elected in 1902. Lost re-election.
John Welborn (Lexington)	Republican	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907	59th	Elected in 1904. Lost re-election.
Courtney W. Hamlin (Springfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1919	60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th	Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Lost renomination.
Samuel C. Major (Fayette)	Democratic	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921	66th	Elected in 1918. Lost re-election.
Roscoe C. Patterson (Springfield)	Republican	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1923	67th	Elected in 1920. Lost re-election.
Samuel C. Major (Fayette)	Democratic	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929	68th 69th 70th	Elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost re-election.
John W. Palmer (Sedalia)	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931	71st	Elected in 1928. Lost re-election.
Samuel C. Major (Fayette)	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – July 28, 1931	72nd	Elected in 1930. Died.
Vacant		July 28, 1931 – September 29, 1931
Robert D. Johnson (Marshall)	Democratic	September 29, 1931 – March 3, 1933		Elected to finish Major's term. Redistricted to at-large and lost renomination.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	All representatives elected at-large on a general ticket
Dewey Short (Galena)	Republican	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1957	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Lost re-election.
Charles H. Brown (Springfield)	Democratic	January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1961	85th 86th	Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Lost re-election.
Durward G. Hall (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1973	87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Retired.
Gene Taylor (Sarcoxie)	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1989	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th	Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Retired.	1973–1983 [data missing]
Gene Taylor (Sarcoxie)	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1989	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th		1983–1993 [data missing]
Mel Hancock (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1997	101st 102nd 103rd 104th	Elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired.	1983–1993 [data missing]
Mel Hancock (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1997	101st 102nd 103rd 104th		1993–2003 [data missing]
Roy Blunt (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2011	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th	Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.	1993–2003 [data missing]
Roy Blunt (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2011	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th		2003–2013
Billy Long (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023	112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Retired to run for U.S. senator.	2003–2013
Billy Long (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023	112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th		2013–2023
Eric Burlison (Ozark)	Republican	January 3, 2023 – present	118th	Elected in 2022.	2023–present

Geography

Counties

There are a total of 10 counties included in MO-07.

Largest cities

The 10 largest cities in MO-07 are as follows.

Rank	City	County	Population (2010)	Population (2015 Estimates)
1	Springfield	Greene/Christian	159,498	166,810
2	Joplin	Jasper/Newton	50,150	51,818
3	Nixa	Christian	19,022	20,984
4	Ozark	Christian	17,820	19,120
5	Republic	Christian/Greene	14,751	16,005
6	Carthage	Jasper	14,378	14,319
7	Neosho	Newton	11,835	12,156
8	Branson	Taney/Stone	10,520	11,431
9	Webb City	Jasper	10,996	11,165
10	Bolivar	Polk	10,325	10,714

Median household incomes

Rank	County	Income (2008)
1	Christian	$50,200
2	Greene	$44,185
3	Newton	$43,872
4	Stone	$40,487
5	Jasper	$40,243
6	Taney	$39,771
7	Lawrence	$39,210
8	Barry	$35,889
9	McDonald	$33,448

Median family incomes

Rank	County	Income (2008)
1	Christian	$58,806
2	Greene	$56,047
3	Newton	$51,178
4	Jasper	$49,007
5	Taney	$47,664
6	Stone	$46,675
7	Lawrence	$45,843
8	Barry	$41,861
9	McDonald	$38,848

Election results

United States House of Representatives elections, 1998 Missouri 7th^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Blunt (incumbent)	129,746	72.6%
	Democratic	Marc Perkel	43,146	24.3%
	Libertarian	Mike Harman	5,639	3.2%
Total votes			178,801	100%
Majority			80,691	45.1%
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2002 Missouri 7th^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Blunt (incumbent)	149,519	74.81%
	Democratic	Roland Roy Lapham	45,964	23.00%
	Libertarian	Douglas Andrew Burlison	4,378	2.19%
	Other	Steven L. Reed	2	0.00%
Total votes			199,863	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2004 Missouri 7th^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Blunt (incumbent)	210,080	70.45%
	Democratic	Jim Newberry	84,356	28.29%
	Libertarian	James K. Craig	2,767	0.93%
	Constitution	Steve Alger	1,002	0.34%
Total votes			298,205	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2006 Missouri 7th^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Blunt (incumbent)	160,942	66.75%
	Democratic	Jack Truman	75,592	30.11%
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	7,566	3.14%
	Other	Glenn Miller	23	0.01%
Total votes			241,123	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2008 Missouri 7th^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Roy Blunt (incumbent)	219,016	67.76%
	Democratic	Richard Monroe	91,010	28.16%
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	6,971	2.16%
	Constitution	Travis Maddox	6,166	1.91%
	Other	Midge Potts	49	0.02%
Total votes			323,212	100%
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2010 Missouri 7th^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long	141,010	63.39
	Democratic	Scott Eckersley	67,545	30.37
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	13,866	6.23
	Write-In	Nicholas Ladendorf	10	0.00
Total votes			222,431	100.00
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2012 Missouri 7th^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	203,565	63.9
	Democratic	Jim Evans	98,498	30.9
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	16,668	5.2
	Write-in	Kenneth Joe Brown	9	0.0
Total votes			318,740	100.0
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2014 Missouri 7th^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	104,054	63.46
	Democratic	Jim Evans	47,282	28.84
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	12,584	7.68
	Write-Ins		37	0.02
Total votes			163,957	100
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold		Swing

United States House of Representatives elections, 2016 Missouri 7th^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	228,001	67.56
	Democratic	Genevieve Williams	92,390	27.38
	Libertarian	Benjamin T. Brixey	17,076	5.06
	Write-in	Amber Thomsen	23	0.00
Total votes			337,490	100
Majority
Turnout
	Republican hold

United States House of Representatives elections, 2018 Missouri 7th
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	196,343	66.2
	Democratic	Jamie Schoolcraft	89,190	30.1
	Libertarian	Ben Brixey	10,920	3.7
	Independent	Shawn Deines (write-in)	2	0.0
Total votes			296,455	100.0
	Republican hold

United States House of Representatives elections, 2020 Missouri 7th
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Billy Long (incumbent)	254,318	68.9
	Democratic	Teresa Montseny	98,111	26.6
	Libertarian	Kevin Craig	15,573	4.2
	Independent	Audrey Richards (write-in)	1,279	0.3
	Write-in		2	0.0
Total votes			454,339	100.0
	Republican hold

Prior elections

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-07 voted in the 2008 presidential election. U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) swept the district with 63.07 percent of the vote while U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) received 35.39 percent, a 27.68-percent margin of victory for the GOP. McCain received less than 60 percent in only Greene County, where Obama may have been helped by the college subplot presence of Missouri State University.

County	John McCain	Barack Obama	Difference
Newton	69.42	29.32	R + 40.10
McDonald	67.60	30.17	R + 37.43
Stone	68.02	30.69	R + 37.33
Taney	68.02	30.85	R + 37.17
Lawrence	67.70	30.64	R + 37.06
Christian	67.33	31.52	R + 35.81
Barry	66.63	31.62	R + 35.01
Jasper	65.67	32.62	R + 33.05
Polk	65.39	33.24	R + 32.15
Greene	57.06	41.26	R + 15.08

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-07 voted in the 2008 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary. Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) carried every county in MO-07 over U.S. Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts).

County	Mike Huckabee	John McCain	Mitt Romney	Difference
Taney	55.89	25.90	14.17	H + 29.99
Polk	51.33	25.28	18.65	H + 26.05
Christian	48.46	24.37	22.75	H + 24.09
McDonald	48.71	25.55	14.75	H + 23.16
Lawrence	48.75	26.19	18.96	H + 22.56
Barry	49.69	28.31	15.33	H + 21.38
Newton	45.49	25.95	22.82	H + 19.54
Jasper	42.23	25.82	26.03	H + 16.20
Greene	42.48	27.09	25.17	H + 15.39
Stone	45.01	31.82	18.80	H + 13.19

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-07 voted in the 2008 Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary. Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) carried every county in the district by convincing margins over U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois).

County	Hillary Clinton	Barack Obama	Difference
McDonald	68.39	26.00	C + 42.39
Barry	65.52	30.47	C + 35.05
Newton	65.55	31.46	C + 34.09
Polk	63.81	33.28	C + 30.53
Taney	63.69	33.74	C + 29.95
Lawrence	61.58	34.86	C + 26.72
Stone	61.76	35.17	C + 26.59
Jasper	60.42	36.39	C + 24.03
Christian	57.68	39.93	C + 17.75
Greene	54.94	42.77	C + 12.17

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-07 voted in the 2008 Missouri gubernatorial election. Former Attorney General and now Governor Jay Nixon (D) lost the district to his challenger, former U.S. Representative Kenny Hulshof (R).

County	Kenny Hulshof	Jay Nixon	Difference
Newton	61.85	36.29	R + 25.56
McDonald	59.74	36.63	R + 23.11
Jasper	58.61	39.42	R + 19.19
Jasper	58.61	39.42	R + 19.19
Taney	51.16	46.31	R + 4.85
Stone	49.53	47.46	R + 2.07
Christian	49.65	47.73	R + 1.92
Barry	49.48	47.90	R + 1.58
Lawrence	49.15	47.94	R + 1.21
Polk	45.76	49.52	D + 3.76
Greene	42.84	54.45	D + 11.61

References

^ "My Congressional District".
^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601. "Eric Burlison (Missouri (MO)), 118th Congress Profile". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "1998 Election Results". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
^ Official Manual of Missouri, 2003-2004, page 627.
^ Official Manual of Missouri, 2005-2006, page 637
^ Official Manual of Missouri, 2007-2008, page 649
^ "2008 Election Results". Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
^ [1] 2010 Election Results
^ [2] 2012 Election Results
^ [3] 2014 Election Results
^ [4] 2016 Election Results

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
https://www.census.gov/
[5]

[1] "My Congressional District".

[Cook-2] "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[3] Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601. "Eric Burlison (Missouri (MO)), 118th Congress Profile". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[4] "1998 Election Results". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2008.

[5] Official Manual of Missouri, 2003-2004, page 627.

[6] Official Manual of Missouri, 2005-2006, page 637

[7] Official Manual of Missouri, 2007-2008, page 649

[8] "2008 Election Results". Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2009.

[9] [1] 2010 Election Results

[10] [2] 2012 Election Results

[11] [3] 2014 Election Results

[12] [4] 2016 Election Results

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