Opening Statement

Hello, my name is Josh Smead, and I’m running to represent Missouri’s 6th District in the United States House of Representatives. I am furious at the quality of our representation in Missouri.

I am a father of four, a licensed architect, and a small business owner— and I am not a career politician. I am running because Missouri deserves better.

For 24 years, Sam Graves has been in office for the 6th District, and what has gotten better? The cost of living keeps rising. Healthcare is harder to access. Small businesses struggle while big corporations get handouts. We have a sitting president who thinks he is ‘the law’ who can overrule congress at will. And right now, Graves is focused on climbing the political ladder instead of serving us.

Our district—and our country—clearly needs a new generation of leadership.

This is the Show Me state, and Sam Graves has been showing us what he really thinks about the Will of the People in Missouri.

In the 2024 Election, Missouri voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 3, protecting a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions. But Sam Graves and his colleagues are working to overrule us. He co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, a backdoor attempt at a nationwide abortion ban that ignores the will of Missouri voters and undermines our state constitution. Washington should not be able to erase Missouri’s vote.

The President of the United States keeps saying that overturning Roe v Wade would mean the issue of abortion could be left up to the states. Well, we did that, and now Sam Graves and his colleagues are still working to overrule us.

Time and again, these career politicians in Washington vote against us. Just last week, Sam Graves voted for the Republican spending bill that seeks to cut Medicaid, putting 1.3 MILLION Missourians—almost half of them children—at risk of losing coverage. The funding cuts in that same bill threaten our nursing homes, rural hospitals, and jobs across Missouri.

And it won’t stop there. Social Security is next. Congress just cut 7,000 jobs from the Social Security Administration, an early sign of deeper cuts coming. I’ve paid into Social Security since my first job at McDonald’s at age 15, and like many of you, I assume I will never see any of that money again. We need representatives who will fight for the programs working families rely on—not dismantle them.

Graves also calls himself a fiscal conservative, yet when got into office in 2001 we had $10 Trillion in debt vs the $34 Trillion we have today. Meanwhile, billionaires and massive corporations keep getting tax breaks.

Trickle-down economics is a lie. It hasn’t worked for 40 years, and it’s not working now. All I know is the rich keep getting richer. Instead of giving the wealthy more tax breaks, we need to invest in our people, our children, our schools, our roads, and our rural hospitals.

The billionaires currently running Washington are in control of career politicians like Sam Graves, and he has refused to perform his duty to speak up and protect the power of the Legislature from an overreaching Executive branch.

The unitary executive theory—the idea that the President can act like a king—is dangerous, and it’s gaining traction in Washington. Sam Graves has stood by, silently, while the President defunds states, colleges, and government agencies that don’t align with his agenda. That’s taxation without representation. It’s not how America is supposed to work.

I believe in representative democracy—where Congress listens to the people and fights for their interests. But that won’t happen unless we elect leaders who put Missouri before politics.

The Government should spend money wisely, but it should not be run like a business because it is NOT a business. The Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in our government comes from career politicians like Sam Graves who would sell out the interests of Missouri if he thought it would get him a shot at a promotion.

For too long, we’ve been stuck with the same career politicians, and what do they do? They vote against our State Constitution. They take away our healthcare. They cut services and fire veterans. They ignore our voices.

It’s time for a new generation of leadership.

I’m running for Congress because Missouri deserves someone who will fight for Family, for Liberty, and for the Future. I’m not running to build a career in politics; I’m running to make the best decisions for my state and my children.

If these are values you share, please join me. Let’s bring common sense, integrity, and new leadership to Washington. Let’s fight for our families, our future, and Missouri. Thank you.