Notable representatives from the district include governors John Smith Phelps and Austin A. King as well as Kansas City Mayor Robert T. Van Horn. In 1976, Jerry Litton was killed on election night as he flew to a victory party after winning the Democratic nomination for United States Senate. The visitors center at Smithville Lake is named in Litton's memory. Democrat Pat Danner, a former aide to Jerry Litton, won the seat in 1992 becoming the first woman to be elected in the district defeating a 16-year Republican incumbent.
George W. Bush beat John Kerry in this district 57%–42% in 2004. The district is represented by RepublicanSam Graves, who has held the seat since 2001. Graves easily held on to his seat what was expected to be a tough 2008 election, defeating former Kansas City mayor Kay Waldo Barnes by 23 percentage points.
Historically, the 6th was not safe for either party. However, in recent years, it has trended Republican, mirroring the increasingly conservative bent of the more rural areas of Missouri that historically voted for Yellow Dog Democrats.
After Missouri lost a congressional seat following the 2010 census (in part because of losses in population in several rural northern Missouri counties), the 6th was expanded to include most of Missouri north of the Missouri River, stretching from border to border from Kansas to Illinois. The biggest geographic addition was in northeast Missouri (including Kirksville, Missouri and Hannibal, Missouri), which used to be the northern half of the old 9th district.[3]
The 6th lost Cooper and Howard counties to the 4th district, and Gladstone in southwestern Clay County to the 5th district. Meanwhile, the 6th was extended into Jackson County for the first time, taking in the northeastern portion between the Missouri River and Interstate 70, as well as a small sliver southwest of Independence.
In the 2020 redistricting, more of Clay County was ceded the 5th District, including North Kansas City. The district also moved into the St. Louis metropolitan area for the first time, gaining most of Lincoln County, including its largest city, Troy, from the 3rd district.
^House, Scott (May 14, 2005). "Fact Sheet on 6000 Caves". The Missouri Speleological Survey. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2008.