Two familiar names are facing off to represent Missouri’s 5th Congressional District in Washington D.C.
Republican Jacob Turk is making his sixth attempt at becoming a congressman. He’s up against popular incumbent Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
Turk is spending most of his hours talking with the people he hopes to serve.
“It is not easy, particularly as a grassroots campaign,” Turk said. “Because the only way to get the votes is to outreach to people and spend the time out on the road."
Turk isn’t new to the political scene. This is his sixth campaign.
He refuses to give up.
"Persistence pays off. We've gotten closer and closer each time, and as people have gotten to know me, it's a real David v. Goliath story,” Turk explained.
The Goliath in this story is incumbent Congressman Cleaver.
Cleaver has represented Missouri’s 5th District for over a decade. Experts expect him to win again, but he said he’s not getting ahead of himself.
"I'm running scared because I think that's what the times require,” Cleaver said. "Any person running for public office that doesn't recognize that this is a different time and fails or refuses to campaign is flirting with folly."
Turk, who is an engineer by trade, calls himself an “ordinary citizen.” He believes that’s what is lacking in Washington D.C.
“They want somebody who will take their needs into consideration and be out in the district themselves. And that's where Congressman Cleaver has been absent,” Turk said.
Cleaver wants voters to look at his track record.
“I think people have to remember what individuals have done in their careers, and I think that is a good sign of what they will do in the future,” he said.
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Lexi Sutter can be reached at lexi.sutter@kshb.com.
