Mexico resident and Chairman of the Audrain County Democrats Erik Richardson is trying to do something no one has been able to do in more than 20 years. Beat Congressman Sam Graves on Election Day.

Richardson has filed to run for the Sixth District Congressional seat that has been held by Graves since the 2000 election. Graves sits on the Armed Services Committee and is chairman of the Transportation Committee in the House of Representatives. Graves has already announced he’ll seek a 13th term.

Richardson told the Ledger too many people’s voices are not being heard or listened to. He said there are lots of people talking at each other and the point is never made. When building e-learning courses Richardson said he thinks about collaboration and how he feels it’s been absent in governing.

“If we want to have a collaboration, if we want to have progress, we have to rebuild the idea of actually being honest and fair with each other and giving everybody a place at the table,” Richardson said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on where the issue is not being argued in good faith.”

An example Richardson gives is the equal treatment of women and the lack of resources for women who have children but also want or need to participate in the workforce. Richardson tied the lack of childcare in many rural parts of Missouri directly to the economic output of a community. Richardson argues if the status quo remains neither families nor businesses will want to stay.

“If women can’t find affordable child care they’re not in the workforce,” Richardson said. “You have a dampening effect. Looking at that one issue where we’re not dealing fairly has this domino effect downstream.”

What does Richardson believe will get people back to the table? Communication. Richardson said he’s attended several workshops and forums that deal directly with reviving rural communities. He said rural communities need to work together to send the right message.

“When we figure out the right story to tell it helps people understand why businesses would want to relocate here and why families would want to move here,” Richardson said. “I’m not special; I’m just a guy. But I see things and I’m optimistic if we can get more people to see these things and have an honest conversation about it then we can make progress.”

Richardson said making laws and showing up to press conferences isn’t the only part of the job of being a member of Congress. He said constituent services and getting money for projects in the district are the other half of the job.

Richardson said we have crumbling infrastructure, small farms are disappearing and the state receives poor scores in a lot of metrics.

“What are you doing back in Missouri?” Richardson asked. “Some of it has to do with whether or not we’re being plugged into opportunities and resources.”

The task will not be easy for Richardson. Graves won his last election with more than 70 percent of the votes and hasn’t finished with less than 65 percent of the vote since 2008 when former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes got close to 37 percent of the vote while Graves got just under 60 percent.

The last time the Sixth District was represented by a Democrat was Pat Danner who served from 1993 to 2001. Graves beat Danner’s son, Steve Danner, with 50.9 percent of the vote compared to 46.8 percent for Danner.

Recent petition initiative votes for progressive issues like legal cannabis, higher minimum wage, and extending Medicaid are reasons Richardson has hope. He said brand identity needs to be broken.

“If you get those policies on the ballot they don’t have a D or an R next to them so you’re able to see where people stand on an issue,” Richardson said. “If we can get people thinking about ‘What are we actually talking about here,’ something that seemed like a very partisan goes through.”

Richardson said success isn’t about flipping a Congressional seat but going back to giving people a voice and reaching out to those who don’t think there are like-minded people in their communities. Richardson said for far too long the Democrats have conceded the rural part of Missouri to Republicans. 

“It’s a purple state but it looks red on a map,” Richardson said. “In communities like Mexico where people feel like they’re outnumbered because the Democrats have not necessarily been there to create a sense of community, build identity and give them an outlet to engage.”

Richardson said Democrats lose every battle they chose not to fight in.

“Even if you lose you still want to feel like you played well,” Richardson said. “By running a campaign you have a chance to sit down and talk with people. To help them see that other people are facing the same struggle. We need to help them plug into opportunities to participate.”

Richardson said victory can take different forms.

“If I get crushed in the race that’s fine it won’t bother me,” Richardson said. “If I don’t help people connect and raise their vices that will bother me.”