Newcomer Chris Reichard, a Democrat from Arnold, will face Republican incumbent Jason Smith in the Nov. 3 general election for Missouri’s 8th Congressional District seat.
Reichard won the Democrat primary against Frank Barnitz. According to complete, but unofficial results reported by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, Reichard received 15,334 votes across the district to Barnitz’s 12,999 votes.
Smith won the Republican primary against challenger Gordon Heslop by more than 80,000 votes in the district, according to complete, but unofficial results.
In the Jefferson County portion of the district, Smith received 14,062 votes (80 percent of the vote) in the Republican primary, while Reichard received 5,922 votes (59.92 percent) in the Democrat primary, according to complete, but unofficial results.
Smith and Reichard will face Libertarian Rebecca Sharpe Lombard, who ran unopposed, in the Nov. 3 election.
The 8th Congressional District covers the eastern half of Jefferson County, including Arnold, Herculaneum and Festus. It also encompasses 27 other counties across southeastern Missouri.
Smith has held the seat since 2010. He was reelected in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Members of Congress receive an annual salary of approximately $174,000.
Smith, 44, of Cape Girardeau is currently the U.S. representative and a Dent County cattle rancher. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 2001 and earned a juris doctorate from Oklahoma City University Law School in 2004.
Reichard, 41, of Arnold is a communications journeyman technician with IBEW Local 1, a position he has held for more than a decade. He is also a U.S. Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq with the First Calvary Division. He was honorably discharged in 2012.
Reichard earned his education through two Army Military Occupational Specialties, leadership training, and completing the IBEW/JATC apprenticeship program.
Reichard said he is eager for the election in November.
“I feel like we’ve shown people that blue dots in Missouri are coming together, and I just feel energized and ready to go,” he said.
Reichard thanked his supporters for their dedication.
“Honestly, I couldn’t have done this without them; they’ve put their faith in me to go into the general election, and it’s a blessing, and I’m ready to fight for all of them,” he said.
Reichard said he has only heard from Smith’s campaign manager briefly and hopes to schedule a public debate with questions submitted from the public.
A spokesperson for Smith did not respond to the Leader’s request for comment about the primary.