A top takeover opportunity. Kay Barnes is one of Democrats’ strongest recruits to take over a GOP seat and strengthen our majority in Congress. A native of St. Joseph with extensive family roots in the district and the former mayor of Kansas City, Barnes is running to oust right-wing GOP Rep. Sam Graves in Missouri’s sixth district. Democratic candidates have been winning in this district, and the seat is ripe for takeover — but Graves has raised millions to defeat past challengers and will do the same in 2008.
A Bush rubber stamp who’ll do anything to win. Graves is a reliable vote for the failed Bush-Cheney agenda. He is extreme on choice and would outlaw abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or to protect a woman’s life. He’s taken thousands of dollars from the drug and oil companies while voting in their interests. Alarmed by Barnes’s strong early fundraising, Graves and his campaign manager, who is notorious for underhanded campaign tactics, are getting serious about the campaign. And he’s got GOP heavyweights on his side — Vice President Dick Cheney and House Minority Leader John Boehner have done fundraisers for Graves, adding at least $275,000 to his war chest in a race where every dollar will count.
An outstanding leader with bipartisan support. The first woman mayor of Kansas City, Barnes has drawn bipartisan praise for her work revitalizing downtown, improving city services, and strengthening residential communities. Her popularity across the district and record of accomplishment make her the ideal challenger to Graves, but she will need early generous support from EMILY’s List members to fight back against the coming attacks and put this seat in Democratic hands.
One of the Democrats’ most exciting opportunities to take over a Republican House seat is in Missouri, where Kay Barnes, the former mayor of Kansas City, is taking on right-wing Rep. Sam Graves in the sixth congressional district. A proven leader with a solid record of achievement, Barnes is one of the strongest congressional challengers in the nation and, according to the Washington Post, “one of House Democrats’ most prized recruits.”
Barnes is widely credited as the driving force behind the dramatic economic revitalization of Kansas City. After eight years as mayor, she’s got a firm base in the suburban part of this district. But Barnes’s roots are in rural Missouri: she was born and raised in the small town of St. Joseph and is deeply committed to strengthening rural communities. She can compete with Graves, a standard Bush rubber stamp with a staunch anti-choice voting record, in every part of this diverse district.
Barnes was active in the civil rights movement and worked on social justice issues with her church. In 1974, she was one of two women elected to the Jackson County Legislature; in 1979, she was elected to the Kansas City city council. In the 1970s, Barnes teamed up with fellow county officials Ann Richards of Texas and Lynn Cutler of Iowa to travel the U.S. urging women to run for office.
In 1999, Barnes became the first woman mayor of Kansas City. During her two terms, she improved city services, strengthened residential communities, and helped revitalize the city’s core — pushing for capital improvements and drawing corporate, government, restaurant, and retail outlets to the Downtown Loop. Described by the Kansas City Star as “knowledgeable, good-humored, and tenacious,” Barnes has earned praise from leaders in both parties, including U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, a Republican, who said, “because of [Barnes’s] commitment and dedication, Kansas City is a better place to live and work.”
Barnes’s popularity and strength as a candidate, Graves’s far-right views and pitiful record, and voter discontent with Bush — and particularly the war in Iraq and the economy — make this one of the most exciting House races of the 2008 election cycle. Democrats have good reason to believe it can be won: the district has increasingly favored Democrats in statewide races. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and state Auditor Susan Montee won in the sixth district in 2006, as did the Democratic candidates for attorney general, state treasurer, and secretary of state in 2004. And in Missouri’s February “Super Tuesday” presidential primary, 57 percent of those coming out to vote in this district were Democrats — a sign that voters are energized and ready for a change.
Graves, who once called President Bush “a deep thinker,” has been a reliable rubber stamp for his intellectual hero, voting with the failed Bush-Cheney administration 95 percent of the time. Graves voted to increase his own congressional pay to more than $168,000, then voted against giving troops in Iraq bonuses of just $1,500. While oil and gas companies reap record profits and consumers pay record high prices for fuel, Graves voted to give $85 billion in subsidies and tax breaks to the oil industry — and was rewarded with over $50,000 in campaign contributions. Graves also voted against the renewable energy bill that would have reduced the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. After accepting nearly $50,000 in contributions from pharmaceutical companies, Graves voted in favor of a prescription drug plan that left thousands of seniors paying fee increases. And Graves voted to uphold Bush’s veto of the bipartisan State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) extension, denying affordable health care to four million uninsured children.
Graves has consistently voted to restrict reproductive freedom and supports outlawing abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger.
Barnes is the first Democrat with a fighting chance of defeating Graves, an aggressive fundraiser who has never drawn a competitive challenger. Fundraising reports show that Barnes is keeping up with Graves in fundraising, with $1 million raised at the end of 2007 to Graves’s $1.1 million. But Graves has more money in the bank than Barnes, and Republicans are rallying to help him keep this seat. To date, Graves is the only House incumbent who has benefited from in-state fundraisers with both Bush and Cheney — events that added at least $750,000 to Graves’s war chest.
This race is fully engaged, with both sides sparring regularly. Graves, knowing he is in serious jeopardy, hired a campaign manager who is notorious for sleazy campaign tactics and vile negative attacks; early on, he said publicly that he is “sharpening his claws” in anticipation of attacking Barnes, according to the Kansas City Star. Barnes is a fearless candidate whose achievements can stand up to scrutiny, but this will be one of the most expensive congressional campaigns of 2008. Barnes must raise at least $3 million to compete with a powerful incumbent willing to say and do anything to win.
Barnes is running for Congress because, she says, “the concerns that this district cares about most — the war in Iraq, the economy, health care, education, support for the military and our veterans — are not being represented in Congress. My upbringing in northwestern Missouri and experience as mayor of the largest city in the region uniquely qualify me to represent ALL the citizens of the sixth district.”
Barnes is a former teacher whose parents were teachers, so she understands what resources schools and teachers need to do their jobs. In Congress, she will work to reform and fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act, expand Head Start, and develop initiatives to educate students from disadvantaged families.
“Having been a single mother, I am aware of the struggle to maintain the balance between work and family,” Barnes says. The tax code should address the needs of women who stay at home to raise their children, Barnes says, “and we should expand after-school care opportunities and provide incentives for companies to provide day care in the work place.”
Barnes supports trade policy that maintains wages and increases opportunity for everyone. “We need to expand global markets, but with enforceable rules to promote global competition that values people,” she says. “We have promoted free trade at the expense of fair trade.”
As mayor, Barnes led the investment of billions of dollars to improve Kansas City’s infrastructure, promote economic development, and generate growth. “The U.S. can use an infrastructure makeover that will also create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs across the country,” she says. “As for human infrastructure, education and training are the keys.” As a member of Congress, Barnes will focus on the needs of rural northwestern Missouri. “As mayor, I worked hard and long on economic development, and I believe I can use many of the same principles to bring prosperity to every community in our district.” Barnes will fight for tax policy that eases the burden on middle-income taxpayers, not the wealthiest one percent.
“What occurred in Iraq is a disgrace,” says Barnes. “We sent our men and women into combat unprepared. We need to reform our defense spending to adequately train and equip our military.” In addition to better support for active troops, Barnes will fight to see that the defense budget addresses the needs of veterans. “Poor health care and reduced benefits were the Republican response to their sacrifice,” she says. She is appalled by the Bush administration’s failure to use diplomacy to address the problems in the Middle East and elsewhere, and as a member of Congress will insist on strong oversight of the State Department.
Ever since she was a young woman in the 1960s, Barnes has fought for equal rights for all Americans. She sponsored and helped pass a domestic partners’ benefits program for city employees, extending benefits to 6,000 people. Noting the failure of the Bush administration to enforce civil rights laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s, Barnes will seek to update these laws, particularly those protecting women and minorities.
As mayor, Barnes spearheaded efforts to increase funding for first responders and helped put more than 250 new officers on the streets of Kansas City. More educational opportunity and support for parents will help reduce crime, she believes. “We need to examine our correctional system to find better ways to reduce recidivism and help prisoners return to society as productive citizens,” she says. As a member of Congress, Barnes will seek funding to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
Giving every American access to quality, affordable health care will be a top congressional priority for Barnes. “Our current situation is unacceptable for the wealthiest country on earth,” she says. Improvements in technology can also reduce health care costs, she says.
Fighting poverty starts with improving education, Barnes says, “so young people start with the tools to be productive workers.” A tax policy that does not unfairly burden the poor and provides better benefits to seniors, often among the country’s poorest citizens, will help lift more Americans above the poverty line.
Barnes, who has been endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, believes the U.S. should take the lead in developing environmental initiatives that will stop and reverse global warming. “As a parent, I am very concerned that we turn over to our heirs a cleaner and safer environment,” she says. “The ideas and innovations are available. What has been lacking is the political will.” Missouri farmers have a keen interest in developing alternative fuels, “and I will promote that innovation,” Barnes says.
Barnes will protect and defend women’s reproductive rights in Congress. “I will support, as I always have, a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” she says.
May 2008