Doniphan's 2026 Races: Everything You Need to Know Before You Vote
- Kal Inois
- May 27
- 15 min read
Doniphan is a town of roughly 1,800 people in one of the poorest counties in Missouri, where nearly 1 in 3 residents lives below the poverty line, the nearest hospital closed in 2018, and every elected official who represents them is a Republican who has voted for policies that make their lives harder. In 2026, that can change. This guide tells you exactly what is at stake, who is running, what the Republicans have done to this community, and why the Democrats challenging them deserve your vote.
KEY DATES FOR DONIPHAN VOTERS
Last day to register to vote: July 8, 2026
Primary Election: August 4, 2026
General Election: November 3, 2026
Register or check your registration: sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri
RACE ONE
Missouri State House District 153
Les Majors (Democrat) vs. Keith Elliott (Republican incumbent)
First, Let's Talk About Ripley County
Before we talk about candidates, you need to understand exactly what kind of place Ripley County is, and what has been done to it, so you can see clearly what is at stake.
Ripley County has a poverty rate of nearly 25%. In Doniphan township specifically, nearly 35% of residents live below the poverty line, more than double the state and national averages. The median household income is roughly $42,000, about half the Missouri state median. Nearly 14% of residents under 65 have no health insurance at all.
In 2018, the Southeast Health Center of Ripley County in Doniphan closed. The nearest emergency room is now more than an hour away for many residents. If you have a heart attack, a car accident, or a pregnancy emergency in Ripley County today, you are driving a very long way to reach care.
These aren't accidents. They are the predictable results of decades of Republican policy that defunds rural healthcare, cuts food assistance, and allows rural economies to collapse while delivering tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. The people making those decisions represent Doniphan in Jefferson City and Washington. This is who they are and what they have done.
Keith Elliott: What You Need to Know
Keith Elliott is a Republican who was elected to represent Missouri House District 153 in 2024. He is a cattle rancher, a former Missouri Department of Transportation employee of nearly 30 years, and a graduate of Doniphan R-1 schools. He presents himself as a community man rooted in Ripley County. That framing is worth examining closely alongside his actual record in Jefferson City.
HE IS A MEMBER OF THE PARTY THAT VOTED TO GUT MEDICAID
Elliott is a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives. In April 2025, the Republican-controlled Missouri House voted to send a constitutional amendment to the ballot that would override the will of Missouri voters who expanded Medicaid in 2020. That expansion, which Missourians approved by voter initiative, added hundreds of thousands of working adults to MO HealthNet coverage, many of them in rural counties exactly like Ripley. The House passed the measure with overwhelming Republican support, with only one Republican voting against it.
At the federal level, Missouri's Republican congressional delegation voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which cuts $911 billion from Medicaid over a decade and $300 billion from SNAP food assistance. Missouri stands to lose $17 billion in federal Medicaid funding. Rural health care providers in Missouri face a $5.4 billion cut, the 10th highest in the country. The Missouri Rural Health Association has stated plainly: "Rural hospital closures are an epidemic in this state." There are already 29 Missouri rural hospitals at risk of closure, 12 of them at immediate risk. Ripley County already lost its only hospital in 2018. The next closest hospitals are now also at risk.
This is not abstract. In Ripley County, where nearly 1 in 4 residents is on Medicaid, these cuts are the difference between a clinic staying open and shutting down. They are the difference between a senior getting medication and going without. They are the difference between a child seeing a doctor and being kept home sick.
HE IS A MEMBER OF THE PARTY THAT TRIED TO BAN ABORTION AFTER VOTERS SAID NO
In November 2024, Missouri voters passed Amendment 3, enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution. They did so clearly, with more than 52% of the vote. Missouri Republicans in the state legislature responded by using a parliamentary maneuver to silence a Democratic filibuster and pass a ballot item to repeal Amendment 3, sending it back to voters for a reversal. The measure would ban most abortions, allowing exceptions only for rape, incest with a police report, and medical emergencies. Elliott is a member of the caucus that did this, overriding the express democratic will of the voters they claim to serve.
In May 2026, the Republican-controlled House went further, passing a bill that would allow healthcare providers to face the death penalty if they do not provide life-saving care to a baby born after an attempted abortion. The bill passed 102-46, almost entirely along party lines.
HE IS A MEMBER OF THE PARTY TRYING TO ELIMINATE THE STATE INCOME TAX AND SHIFT THE BURDEN ONTO YOU
Missouri Republicans have been pushing to eliminate the state income tax entirely and replace it with a higher sales tax. What sounds like a tax cut for working people is actually a massive transfer of the tax burden from the wealthy, who pay income tax, to working and low-income people, who spend a higher proportion of their income on taxable goods. Analysts warn that for most Missouri families, any savings from the income tax elimination would be entirely swallowed by rising health insurance costs, since ACA subsidies have also expired. Annual health insurance premiums are projected to rise from $888 to $1,904 for many Missourians, a 114% increase, while income tax savings would be far smaller for most working families.
HIS CAPITOL REPORT TELLS YOU WHERE HIS PRIORITIES ARE
In his official Capitol Report to District 153 constituents, Elliott highlighted property tax reform language requirements, a bill designating June as "Fathership Month," and election integrity measures. There is no mention of the hospital closure crisis, Medicaid funding, SNAP cuts, rural broadband gaps, or the economic collapse of communities across his district. His constituents are dealing with poverty, healthcare deserts, and food insecurity. His legislative updates are about property tax ballot language and Father's Month.
"Rural hospital closures are an epidemic in this state. There are folks who have to drive hours to receive emergency care. Think about that. Think about having a heart attack in rural Missouri and having to drive three, four hours just to receive care somewhere adequate." — Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune (D)
Les Majors: Why He Deserves Your Vote
LES MAJORS | DEMOCRAT | DONIPHAN, MISSOURI
Website: majorsformissouri.com
Email: campaign@lesmajors.com
Les Majors is not a career politician. He is a retired tool and die maker who spent 35 years on the factory floor. He is a husband, a father, a lifelong hunter, a proud gun owner, and he has lived in Doniphan his whole life. He is running as a Democrat, and specifically as what is called a Blue Dog Democrat, a moderate, independent-minded candidate who does not toe a party line but instead focuses entirely on the people he would represent.
That framing matters enormously in Ripley County. Les Majors is not asking you to abandon your values. He is asking you to look at what the Republicans have actually delivered, and consider whether a neighbor who has worked beside you, lived the same life as you, and knows this community from the inside out might do a better job of fighting for it.
HE KNOWS WHAT WORKING PEOPLE ACTUALLY FACE
Thirty-five years on the factory floor is not a line on a resume. It is a life. It means knowing what it feels like to clock in before sunrise and clock out exhausted. It means understanding what a paycheck actually covers and what it does not. It means knowing that a medical bill can wipe out months of savings, that a plant closing can destroy a family's future, and that nobody in Jefferson City seems to notice or care. Les Majors does not need to be told these things. He has lived them.
HE IS FIGHTING FOR THE THINGS RIPLEY COUNTY ACTUALLY NEEDS
Les Majors' six priorities are not culture war talking points. They are the real, practical needs of Ripley County residents:
Jobs and manufacturing.
Les wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to rural Missouri and support small businesses, not ship them overseas with trade deals that benefit corporations while hollowing out communities like Doniphan. He wants responsible tax relief for working families, not tax schemes that shift the burden onto the people who can least afford it.
Rural healthcare.
Ripley County's hospital has been closed since 2018. Les will fight to keep clinics and rural healthcare facilities open. He understands, as he says directly, that when the nearest emergency room is an hour away, healthcare access becomes a life-or-death issue. That is not a political position. It is a fact of life in Ripley County.
Roads and broadband.
The roads in rural Missouri are in poor condition, and internet access in communities like Doniphan remains unreliable or nonexistent. Les supports fixing county roads and expanding broadband, because in 2026, internet access is not a luxury, but it is a necessity in rural Missouri. It is essential for education, healthcare, employment, and small business. Children doing homework without it are being left behind. Small businesses without it cannot compete.
Strong rural schools.
Les supports fully funding local schools, respecting parents, supporting teachers, and investing in career and technical education. He wants young people to be able to build a future close to home, rather than having to leave Ripley County to find opportunity.
Public safety.
Les backs law enforcement, sheriffs, deputies, firefighters, EMS, courts, and cracking down on drug trafficking. These are not Republican positions or Democratic positions. They are community positions, and Les holds them because he lives in this community.
Responsible tax policy.
Les supports real tax relief but opposes reckless political stunts that shift the burden onto working families or leave rural communities holding the bag. He understands the difference between a tax cut that helps the factory worker and a tax scheme that helps the corporation.
HE IS PRO-LIFE AND PRO-SECOND AMENDMENT
This is worth saying directly because many Ripley County voters will want to know. Les Majors is a pro-life candidate. He is also a lifelong hunter and gun owner who believes protecting gun rights is a constitutional issue, not a party issue. He is not asking you to choose between your values and your community. He is a candidate who holds those values and also wants to fight for healthcare, jobs, roads, and schools. Those things are not in conflict. A pro-life position means very little if the clinic that delivers babies closes because Medicaid funding was cut.
HE IS YOUR NEIGHBOR RUNNING AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR
Both Les Majors and Keith Elliott are from Doniphan. This race is not about an outsider coming to tell Ripley County what it needs. It is about two people from the same community with different answers to the same question: what does this district actually need, and who will actually fight for it in Jefferson City?
Keith Elliott has been in Jefferson City for one term as part of a Republican supermajority that has cut healthcare, tried to override the voters on abortion, and pushed tax schemes that hurt working families. Les Majors has spent 35 years on a factory floor knowing exactly what working families need. The choice between them could not be clearer.
“I'm not running to serve a party. I'm running to serve the people of this district, my neighbors, my friends, and the folks I've worked beside my whole life.” — Les Majors
RACE TWO
U.S. Congress, Missouri District 8
Democratic Primary August 4 | General Election November 3 vs. Jason Smith (Republican incumbent)
Jason Smith: Thirteen Years of Taking Ripley County for Granted
Jason Smith has represented Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which includes Ripley County and Doniphan, since 2013. That is thirteen years. In those thirteen years, Ripley County's hospital closed, poverty rates remained among the highest in the state, broadband access remained inadequate, and rural healthcare continued to deteriorate. During the same period, Jason Smith rose to become Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress, and used that power to vote for and champion legislation that made things worse for the people he represents.
HE VOTED FOR AND CHAMPIONED THE BILL GUTTING MEDICAID AND SNAP
This is not a minor vote. Jason Smith, as Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, was one of the principal architects of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Jason Smith, as Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, controlled the tax provisions of the bill, which delivered the cuts that benefit corporations and the wealthy. He voted yes and publicly praised the bill for "delivering lasting tax relief." For whom? The Congressional Budget Office confirmed the bill decreases household resources by $1 trillion, primarily by cutting benefits for low-income people, while delivering tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit corporations and households earning over $500,000 per year. The final law cuts $911 billion from Medicaid and $300 billion from SNAPover the next decade.
In Ripley County, where nearly 1 in 4 people is on Medicaid and where more than 10% of the population relies on SNAP to put food on the table, Jason Smith voted to cut both. He chairs the committee that wrote the tax giveaways the Medicaid and SNAP cuts were designed to pay for. He did not get dragged into it reluctantly. He championed it.
The Missouri Budget Project called it plainly: "The bill enacts a massive wealth transfer from working class people to the ultra-rich, providing huge tax cuts for corporations and people earning $500,000 or more each year, while slashing support for basic needs."
HE IS NEVER HERE
One of the most consistent things Democratic candidates and local advocates say about Jason Smith is that he simply does not show up. Amy Nantz of Indivisible SEMO, who hosted a candidate debate, said: "He does not come here, and when he does, he only comes to paid dinners, so he never talks just to regular people." Democratic candidate Frank Barnitz has made this central to his campaign: "Jason Smith expects your vote. I want to earn it."
District 8 is the most rural congressional district in Missouri. It covers 30 counties. Its residents have the highest unemployment rate and among the highest poverty rates in the state. They rank among the lowest in education access. They have lost hospitals, clinics, and economic opportunity for decades. Their congressman holds one of the most powerful committee chairmanships in the U.S. House, and he does not hold public town halls for the people he represents.
HE SIGNED ONTO THE ATTEMPT TO THROW OUT THE 2020 ELECTION RESULTS
GovTrack documents that Jason Smith joined a case before the Supreme Court calling for all votes for president in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to be discarded in order to change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. This was not a procedural vote. It was an attempt to override the votes of millions of American citizens. The case failed. The votes counted. But Jason Smith was part of the effort to make them not count.
HIS DISTRICT IS SUFFERING AND HE CALLS IT BEAUTIFUL
Democratic candidate Chris Reichard put it directly: "We are doing worse than the state in pretty much every metric we've got: the highest unemployment, the highest poverty rate. We rank around the lowest in education. It's just constant." Jason Smith has been the congressman for this district for thirteen years. He chairs the committee that writes tax and healthcare law. And the district has the highest unemployment, the highest poverty rate, and the worst educational outcomes in Missouri. He calls the bill "beautiful."
The Four Democrats Running to Replace Him
Four Democrats are on the August 4 primary ballot. One of them will face Jason Smith in November. Here is who they are and what they stand for. As a Doniphan voter, you can vote in this primary regardless of party registration, because Missouri has an open primary system.
FRANK BARNITZ | FARMER, BUSINESSMAN, FORMER STATE SENATOR
From: Lake Spring, near Rolla Website: frankbarnitz.com
Frank Barnitz is the most experienced Democrat in the field. He is a fifth-generation farmer, owner of Networth Feeds and Feeding, a custom feed mill, and a former Missouri State Senator who served from 2005 to 2011 as Minority Caucus Leader. He served on a school board, a hospital board, and multiple local organizations. He is a Rolla High School graduate and attended Southwest Missouri State University. He announced his campaign at the Phelps County Democratic Club in January 2026, saying: "Public service never really leaves you. Even when the title goes away, the responsibility remains."
Barnitz is running on reversing the Medicaid and SNAP cuts that Jason Smith authored. In the May 16 debate he stated: "They affect our elderly, our disabled, our children, our communities in every way. Jason Smith wants to tout that bill. I want to reverse it." He also cited tariffs crushing Missouri farmers and Smith's absence from the district as central motivating factors. He understands both legislative process and agricultural economics from direct experience, and he has a record of actually showing up for rural Missouri.
CHRIS REICHARD | DISABLED ARMY VETERAN, CONSTRUCTION WORKER
From: Arnold, Missouri Website: reichardforrep.com
Chris Reichard is a disabled Army veteran and construction worker who filed on the first day of candidate registration. He is running on a platform of getting federal funding back to District 8 for healthcare and education, protecting constitutional and civil rights, and opposing the influence of oligarchs and corporate donors in politics. He has made clear why he is running despite the district's R+27 rating: "It feels more like a moral obligation at this point. The MAGA circumstances around the Republican Party, it's just something that I can't buy into."
At the May 16 debate, Reichard said of the people running this country: "I am not backing down from that man. I am going to stand up every bit of the way. It's my life experience in the working class and in the military that knows I can handle this with every stone they throw my direction. It is worth every hit that I take to make sure they are held accountable." He said his day-one priority would be building a coalition for impeachment and government accountability. A veteran standing up for working-class people in a district where veterans are among the most underserved constituencies.
CLAYTON HARBISON | TREE SERVICE CONTRACTOR, COMMUNITY ADVOCATE
From: Arcadia Valley
Website: cch8th.com
Clayton Harbison is a lifelong resident of the Arcadia Valley, a husband, father, and owner of Harbison Tree Service, a family business with over 50 years of combined experience. He walked away from politics once, disillusioned. His daughter Jeanette brought him back. "What once were passing concerns became deep convictions about healthcare access, economic fairness, clean water, strong schools, and a future worth staying for."
His platform focuses on getting big money out of politics, upgrading public infrastructure including roads, preparing communities for the economic disruptions of artificial intelligence, and expanding representation in Congress. He says plainly what many rural Missourians feel: "We need somebody that gets the trials and issues of a common person. I have to deal with childcare. I have to deal with making sure all the bills are paid. Common people are disconnected from politics, and politicians are disconnected from the common people." He is running to close that gap.
GERALD "JERRY" CASS | NAVY VETERAN, NURSE, VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER
From: Willow Springs area
Website: No campaign website currently available. Follow updates through the Missouri Democratic Party.
Gerald Cass grew up on a farm in Willow Springs, Missouri, and has spent his life in service: as a Navy veteran, a nurse, and a volunteer firefighter. He has stated: "As a Navy veteran, nurse, and volunteer firefighter, I've spent my life serving others. I've witnessed firsthand the challenges our community faces and dedicated myself to solutions, whether it's protecting our families or advocating for Native children's rights." He is the only one of the four Democrats to have completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, providing detailed information about his positions for voters. He is running on rural healthcare access, family values, and economic opportunity for farming communities.
Why This Race Matters for Doniphan
Ripley County voters have been sending Republicans to Congress for decades. During that time, their hospital closed, their poverty rate stayed at nearly 25%, their broadband access remained inadequate, and the congressman who holds the most powerful committee chair in the House voted enthusiastically for a bill cutting their healthcare and their food assistance.
The question is not whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. The question is whether the representation you have been getting has actually helped Ripley County or hurt it. The answer is not hard to find. You can see it in the closed hospital. You can see it in the poverty rate. You can see it in the empty storefronts and the families that have had to leave.
Every one of the four Democrats running against Jason Smith has more in common with Ripley County than he does. A farmer who knows what tariffs do to a family farm. A disabled Army vet who has fought for his country and now wants to fight for his community. A working man who deals with childcare and bills and roads that need fixing. A nurse who has watched rural healthcare deteriorate and decided to do something about it.
You have a primary on August 4. Vote for the Democrat you believe in most. Then vote for them again on November 3.
What You Can Do Right Now
Register or verify your registration at sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/register. The deadline is July 8.
Vote in the August 4 primary. Missouri has an open primary. You do not need to be a registered Democrat to vote in the Democratic primary for Congress.
Vote in the November 3 general election. Both the state house race and the congressional race are on the ballot.
Talk to your neighbors. The most powerful thing any campaign has is a trusted neighbor having an honest conversation. If you believe Les Majors and the Democratic congressional candidates deserve a chance to represent Doniphan, say so out loud.
Support the campaigns directly:
Clayton Harbison for Congress Frank Barnitz for Congress Chris Reichard for Congress Missouri Democrats 2026
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