Sam Graves

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Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician who is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri's 6th congressional district, with him being the dean of Missouri's congressional delegation upon the retirement of Senator Roy Blunt in 2023, and having held office since 2001. The aforementioned district stretches across most of the northern third of the state, with it including territory from the Kansas border to the Illinois border. The bulk of its population lives in the northern part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

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Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician who is currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri's 6th congressional district, with him being the dean of Missouri's congressional delegation upon the retirement of Senator Roy Blunt in 2023, and having held office since 2001. The aforementioned district stretches across most of the northern third of the state, with it including territory from the Kansas border to the Illinois border. The bulk of its population lives in the northern part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Graves is a member of the Republican Party. He has notably served as the Chair in charge of the influential Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the U.S. House for multiple years, with him being able to exceed the system of American term limits normally enforced by the Republican leadership.

The Center for Effective Lawmaking, at Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked him as the most effective House Republican in the 118th Congress (2023–25).

On March 27, 2026, Graves announced he would not seek re-election in 2026.

Graves was born on November 7, 1963, in Tarkio, Missouri. He is the son of Janice A. (née Hord) and Samuel Bruce Graves, and the brother of attorney Todd Graves. He graduated from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture with a degree in agronomy. He is a member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity.

Graves was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1992. After one term, he was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1994 and reelected in 1998.

In 2025 and 2026, Graves proposed an annual tax on electric and hybrid vehicles.

After the September 2008 economic crisis, Graves voted against the proposed bailout of United States financial system, claiming it "neither 'punished the wrongdoers nor adequately protected the innocent taxpayers, investors and retirees' caught in the Wall Street banking crisis." In January 2014, Graves introduced the TRICARE Family Improvement Act. The bill would allow dependents of military members to stay on their parents' TRICARE health plan after turning age 26. The bill would change current law, which requires those dependents to change to a separate health plan after turning 26. The American Conservative Union gave him an 85% evaluation in 2017. As of 2019, Graves has a 4% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.

Graves blamed on May 13, 2019, at the House Aviation subcommittee hearing, the 737 MAX crashes (Lion Air Flight 610) on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302) on poor training of the Indonesian and Ethiopian pilots. He stated also that "pilots trained in the U.S. would have been successful" in handling the emergencies on both jets. One month earlier the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued the Boeing 737 MAX groundings.

Graves voted to support Israel following the October 7 attacks.

  • Committee on Armed Services

    • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces

  • Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (chair)

    • As Chair of the committee, Rep. Graves is entitled to sit as an ex officio member in any subcommittee meeting per the committee's rules.

  • Congressional Cement Caucus

  • Congressional Coalition on Adoption

  • Congressional Taiwan Caucus

  • United States–China Working Group

In 2009, the House Ethics Committee began an inquiry into whether Graves used his position on the Small Business Committee to invite Brooks Hurst, a longtime friend and a business partner of his wife, to testify at a committee hearing on the federal regulation of biodiesel and ethanol production. Graves had failed to mention the financial link between his wife and Hurst at the hearing, which dealt with federal subsidies for renewable fuels. A review by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics found "substantial reason to believe that an appearance of conflict of interest was created." Graves said in a statement, "I look forward to a quick review of the facts and answering any questions that the committee may have. I believe that a speedy review will show that all the rules of the House concerning testimony in front of the Small Business Committee were followed." The Office of Congressional Ethics referred the case to the House Ethics committee, which ended its own investigation in October, and released a report finding no ethical violations, as it asserted there was no standard in place for appearances like Hurst's.

On March 27, 2026 Graves said he would retire in January 2027.

Before his congressional career, Graves served eight years in the Missouri General Assembly, winning election to the Missouri House of Representatives once, and to the Missouri Senate twice.

Graves on the left with President George W. Bush at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri on March 20, 2007

Graves greeting President Barack Obama in the Blue Room of the White House on May 2, 2011

Graves with President Donald Trump at the signing of the FAA bill on October 5, 2018

Graves and a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meet with President Joe Biden on March 4, 2021

In 2000, Democratic U.S. Representative Pat Danner suddenly retired due to breast cancer. Graves filed within the short period of time left for filing. He faced Danner's son, Steve Danner, a former state senator, in the general election. Graves called Danner as a "tax and spend liberal" and won the race with 51% of the vote.

PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican7,83756.48%
Democratic6,03843.52%
13,875100%
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican35,22160.61%
Democratic22,88839.31%
58,109100%
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican31,88362.69%
Democratic18,97437.31%
50,857100%
Primary election
Republican30,01468.05
Republican7,49316.99
Republican4,57510.37
Republican1,1222.54
Republican9012.04
44,105100
Republican138,92550.85
Democratic127,79246.78
Libertarian3,6961.35
Natural Law2,7881.02
273,201100
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican131,15163.03
Democratic73,20235.18
Libertarian3,7351.79
208,088100

Graves during the108th Congress

PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican196,51663.83
Democratic106,98734.75
Libertarian4,3521.41
307,855100
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican150,88261.64
Democratic87,47735.73
Libertarian4,7571.94
Progressive PartyShirley A. Yurkonis1,6790.69
244,795100

In 2008, Graves' Democratic challenger was former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes. She was the first reasonably well-financed Democrat to run in the district since Graves' initial run. Graves gained national attention early in the race for running an ad accusing Barnes of promoting "San Francisco values". Despite Barnes' roots in the district (she grew up in St. Joseph and lived in the district's share of Kansas City), Graves was reelected handily, with 59% of the vote to Barnes's 37%.

PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican196,52659.43
Democratic121,89436.86
Libertarian12,2793.71
330,699100
Primary election
Republican54,56682.46%
Republican11,60817.53%
66,174100
Republican154,10369.44
Democratic67,76230.54
Write-In470.02
221,912100
Primary election
Republican59,38880.33%
Republican9,94513.45%
Republican4,5986.22%
73,931100
Republican216,90665.00
Democratic108,50332.52
Libertarian8,2792.48
333,688100
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican124,61666.65
Democratic55,15729.50
Libertarian7,1973.85
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican238,38868.0
Democratic98,58828.4
Libertarian8,1232.3
Green4,2411.2
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican199,79665.4
Democratic97,66032.0
Libertarian7,9532.6
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican258,70967.1
Democratic118,92630.8
Libertarian8,1442.1
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican184,86570.3
Democratic72,25327.5
Libertarian5,7742.2
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican265,21070.7
Democratic100,99926.9
Libertarian5,9191.6
Green3,0580.8
375,186100.0

Graves is a general aviation pilot. He owns a Piper PA-11 Cub Special, is restoring a Beech AT-10, and co-owns a North American T-6 Texan and a Vultee BT-13 Valiant. Gould Peterson Municipal Airport is named after his uncle, an aviator, and is on his family's farm. Graves is a Baptist.

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  • Congressman Sam Graves official U.S. House website
  • Sam Graves for Congress
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
  • Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
  • Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
  • Profile at Vote Smart