Graves says rural focus must remain in 6th District after he leaves office

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves says the defining challenge for whoever succeeds him in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District will be keeping the district’s rural character front and center — and resisting the pull of larger urban areas.

In an interview with the Cameron Citizen Observer, Graves said the district remains rooted in agriculture, small communities and rural schools, and he made clear that he believes its next representative must keep that identity intact. “That district is very rural,” Graves said. “It’s important that you keep that — or that we keep that — emphasis exactly right where it is.”