Trump-Endorsed GOP Candidate Wins Key Primary In Missouri
President Donald Trump’s endorsement continues to be the Midas Touch for candidates he backs in this year’s primary elections ahead of the fall midterms.
With that said, a Missouri Republican benefitted from his back during Tuesday’s primaries in the Show-Me State.
Missouri state Rep. Rick Brattin has won the Republican nomination for Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, according to projections by various media outlets.
Brattin emerged from a crowded Republican primary field and will face Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, an 11-term incumbent who was unopposed in his party’s primary.
The race is expected to draw national attention after last year’s redistricting made the district significantly more favorable to Republican candidates.
A Marine Corps veteran, Brattin was elected to the Missouri Senate in 2020 after previously serving in the Missouri House of Representatives.
President Trump endorsed Brattin on Monday, describing him as a “MAGA Warrior,” and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) also backed his campaign.
Missouri’s 5th Congressional District has changed significantly following last year’s congressional redistricting.
Once centered on heavily Democratic areas surrounding Kansas City, the district was redrawn to extend more than 150 miles into central Missouri after state lawmakers divided the Kansas City metropolitan area among three congressional districts.
According to a CBS News analysis, the district’s electorate is now approximately 41% Democratic, compared with about 62% Democratic under its previous boundaries, making it considerably more competitive for Republicans.
Although Rick Brattin lives just outside the newly configured boundaries of Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, he represents part of the district in the Missouri Senate, according to The Kansas City Star.
If Brattin defeats Democratic Cleaver in November, Republicans would gain a seat that many national election analysts now rate as favorable to the GOP following last year’s redistricting.
A victory in the district could bolster Republican efforts to preserve their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives during what many observers expect to be a competitive midterm election.
A Republican victory in Missouri’s 5th Congressional District would also end the congressional tenure of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a former mayor of Kansas City who has represented the district in the U.S. House since 2005.
Missouri Republicans had long discussed redrawing the Kansas City area’s congressional boundaries as the state became increasingly Republican.
Last fall, the state legislature approved new congressional maps as part of an unusual mid-decade redistricting effort.
The move came after Texas Republicans adopted a new map at the urging of Trump and California Democrats approved changes to several of their own districts.
Under Missouri’s current map, one congressional district in the St. Louis area is considered Democratic-leaning, while the state’s remaining seven districts generally favor Republicans.
The new maps have been challenged in court by opponents who argue the districts are not sufficiently compact and violate the Missouri Constitution.
However, the Missouri Supreme Court has allowed the congressional map to remain in effect, CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, Democrats are dealing with a left-wing socialist insurgency within their party.
Far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, defeating the more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens after one of the most closely watched and expensive Democratic primary contests of the 2026 election cycle.
El-Sayed will take on Republican Mike Rogers in November’s general election, Conservative Brief reported this week.
Immediately after the race was called on Wednesday, El-Sayed called out his opponents for attempting to use his full name as some sort of smear.
The son of Egyptian immigrants — whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed — went after Rogers and other Republicans during a victory speech for using his full name in social media pieces.
“But right now, as bitter and as divisive and as cynical as the campaign against us might have been, I want us to realize that there is so much more that unites us now,” El-Sayed told supporters.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
