Sitting Sen. Rick Brattin, who represents the 31st district, is running for reelection in the Aug. 6 Missouri primary. The district represents Cass, Johnson and Bates counties just south of Kansas City. 

Brattin, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who has focused on hot-button issues related to gun rights and anti-LGBTQ efforts, faces a challenge in the Aug. 6 primary from Rep. Dan Houx of Warrensburg and Rep. Mike Haffner of Pleasant Hill. 

The area leans heavily Republican, so the winner of this Missouri primary is almost guaranteed a seat in Jefferson City next year. Democrat Raymond James is the sole Democrat running for the seat. 

Both Houx and Haffner are campaigning in the primary to bring order and productivity to the Missouri Senate. Their campaign promises are a direct call-out to Brattin, who led one of the longest filibusters in recent Senate history this spring amid infighting within the Senate GOP over initiative petitions. 

Brattin said he believes he is one of the few members of the Senate standing up for conservative values. 

All Republican candidates were contacted by The Beacon to participate in a candidate questionnaire, but none responded. 

The Beacon created an overview of each candidate’s background, legislative history and campaign promises. 

Incumbent Sen. Rick Brattin’s bid in the 31st district Missouri primary

Background

Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrsionville has represented the 31st District since 2020. This is his first time running for reelection in this seat. 

From 2018 to 2020, he served as the Cass County auditor. From 2010 to 2018 he represented District 55 in the Missouri House of Representatives. Brattin was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps as a non-commissioned officer and owns and operates a construction company. 

Brattin co-founded the House Freedom Caucus and is a member of the Senate Freedom Caucus. In office and on the campaign trail, he’s focused on social issues such as gender-affirming care for minors, drag performances in public, a parents’ bill of rights and Second Amendment protections. 

His insistence that the General Assembly prioritize similar issues has drawn the ire of Senate leadership and his opponents. Early in the 2024 legislative session, his committee chairmanships were stripped and his parking spot was revoked by Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, who said that Brattin wanted to bring “nothing but war” to the Senate. 

In the 2024 legislative session, he sat on the following committees: General Laws, Gubernatorial Appointments and Veterans, Military Affairs and Pensions.

Legislation and issues

Brattin co-sponsored Missouri’s version of a law that bans minors from receiving gender-affirming care, which passed in 2023. As part of a compromise to pass the law, it is set to expire in 2027. This year, Brattin sponsored legislation to remove the 2027 expiration from the law. 

He also introduced a bill to ban schools from teaching the 1619 Project, which elevates slavery’s role in American history, or “any divisive concepts.” The bill would require teacher training and student instructional materials to be posted online and establish a parents’ bill of rights. 

Brattin sponsored legislation that would have effectively killed a proposed landfill in south Kansas City, although his version of the bill was not the one that ultimately passed. 

He also sponsored legislation subjecting any city that declares itself a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants to fines of $25,000 a day, despite Missouri law already barring cities from becoming sanctuary cities. The bill would have also required all employers to participate in a federal work authorization program. 

He’s fallen in line with some members of the Freedom Caucus by calling for  personal property taxes to be phased out. 

On elections and voting, Brattin sponsored legislation to make initiative petitions more difficult to pass in Missouri. He also introduced legislation that would require closed primary elections and would allow election authorities to investigate the registration of voters who have not voted in the last two years. 

During a candidate forum hosted by the Johnson County (Mo.) Republican Women Committee, Brattin said he opposed taxpayer dollars going toward keeping the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri. He added that he broadly opposes the use of tax increment financing as a business development tactic. 

Endorsements

Brattin is endorsed by Missouri Right to Life, the state’s anti-abortion group, the Missouri Firearms Coalition and the NRA Political Victory Fund. 

Rep. Dan Houx

Background

Rep. Dan Houx has served in the Missouri House of Representatives since 2018. Houx has also been a real estate developer and homebuilder and a licensed Realtor. He is running in the Missouri Senate District 31 primary with support from business groups in west Missouri.

Houx is the past chair and a current member of the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce and sits on the Whiteman Air Force Base Military Affairs Committee. 

During the 2024 legislative session, Houx was the chairman of the Fiscal Review Committee and the vice chair of the Legislative Review Committee. He also sat on the following committees: Joint Committee on Legislative Research, Rules-Administrative Oversight, Special Committee on Homeland Security and Special Committee on Public Policy. 

Legislation and issues

In 2022, he sponsored a bill signed by Gov. Mike Parson that offered tax incentives to businesses in Missouri. He’s also sponsored legislation to create a grant for employers to enhance cybersecurity measures. 

Houx has also been the main driver of legislation in Missouri to legalize sports betting, although resistance in the Senate has prevented the bill from passing for a number of years. 

Throughout the campaign, he’s taken aim at Brattin’s legislative tactics, calling the incumbent senator an obstructionist who has killed numerous pieces of conservative legislation. 

“People are tired of the dysfunction in the Missouri Senate,” Houx wrote on his Facebook page. 

Houx supports efforts to make initiative petitions more difficult to pass in Missouri. 

During a candidate forum sponsored by the Johnson County (Mo.) Republican Women Committee, Houx said he would vote to repeal the sunset provision on Missouri’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors. 

Houx also said during the forum that he’d like to ensure that law enforcement across the state carry Narcan to help address the fentanyl crisis, which he tied to illegal immigration. 

Houx agreed that he did not support the use of taxpayer dollars to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri. 

Endorsements

Houx has endorsements from a number of business groups in Missouri, including the Mid-America Carpenters’ Regional Council, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce political action committee and the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee. He also is endorsed by the Missouri Council of Firefighters and the Missouri Cattlemen’s  Association.

Rep. Mike Haffner’s challenge in the Aug. 6 Missouri primary

Background

Rep. Mike Haffner has served in the Missouri House of Representatives since 2018. He owns and operates a Christmas tree farm and lives in Pleasant Hill. 

Haffner was an officer in the U.S. Navy before being elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He was a commanding officer of an F/A-18 squadron. He has a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.  

During the 2024 legislative session, Haffner was the chairman of the House’s Agriculture Policy Committee and the vice chairman of the Rules-Regulatory Oversight Committee. He also served on the Emerging Issues Committee and the Joint Committee on Education. 

On the campaign trail, Haffner says he is focused on restoring integrity to the Missouri Senate with a focus on serving Missourians. He said he believes the filibuster is used too often in the Senate.

Legislation and issues

During the 2024 legislative session, Haffner was a driving force behind the bill that effectively killed a proposed landfill site in south Kansas City. Haffner worked closely with the city of Raymore to pass the bill. 

Haffner has also recently sponsored legislation that would ban foreign adversaries from owning Missouri farmland and would reduce the percentage of Missouri farmland that could be owed by foreign businesses. 

Haffner sponsored legislation to ban the use of eminent domain by electric companies for wind turbines or solar panels. He’s also sponsored legislation to alter the membership of the Public Service Commission, the entity that oversees Missouri’s utility providers. His legislation would have increased the membership from five to seven members, with two members involved in farming, one with a financial background and one with a utility background. 

He has also sponsored legislation that would establish a minimum biodiesel fuel amount for diesel in Missouri. 

Haffner has also introduced a handful of education-related bills, such as a 2024 bill that would create new annual performance ratings for public schools based on students’ academic performance. 

Haffner sponsored a bill this year to modify the initiative petition process by requiring petition signature pages to be printed from a form from the secretary of state’s office and that would require petition signature gatherers to be Missouri residents or to be present in Missouri at least 30 days prior to when they start collecting signatures, among other changes. 

During the candidate forum, Haffner expressed concern with using taxpayer dollars to keep the Chiefs and the Royals in Missouri. He said there should be evidence of value added from both of the teams.

Endorsements

Haffner is endorsed by Raymore Mayor Kris Turnbow, the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri Farm Bureau political action committee. He also has endorsements from a number of elected officials in Cass County, including Mike Medsker, the Cass County recorder of deeds, Jeff Fletcher, the county clerk, and Roger Raffety, the assessor.