One in a series of profiles of candidates for the 7th District seat in the U.S. Congress. See all the profiles and coverage here, including candidate views on key issues.
Kristen Radaker Sheafer has never previously campaigned for political office, and doesn’t have any intention to run again. So why is she running in Missouri’s deep-red 7th Congressional District?
Simply put, she said it’s because she sees how dedicated people in the district are to improving their communities, and wants to express how great they are. Less simply, Sheafer wants to provide opportunities and representation for the constituents of the 7th, without focusing on her political career or contributing to polarization.
That’s why she is seeking election Nov. 8 in the 7th District. The Southwest Missouri seat has been held by Republicans for the past 62 years, including the last 12 by Rep. Billy Long, who gave up his seat to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. Sheafer’s opponents are Republican state Sen. Eric Burlison and Libertarian Kevin Craig.
“I think everybody wants to be heard by their representative,” Sheafer said. “A lot of times people aren’t paying enough attention to politics because of how toxic it gets, they tune it out. I believe that people want to be represented and if they could handle paying attention to it, they realize that the people that have been representing them for the last few decades, at least, were more focused on their political careers.”
As a representative, Sheafer said she doesn’t want fame or fortune, but to make opportunities available to people to better themselves, opportunities she feels she has already been given.
“I don’t really have political aspirations,” Sheafer said. “I want to get in there. I want to do as much good as I can to help people, but I don’t really want to move up the ladder. I’ve got other things I’d rather be doing than pursuing political ambitions.”
From rural Oklahoma web designer to Joplin baker
Sheafer was raised in rural northeast Oklahoma, about an hour outside Tulsa. She attended John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, where she studied graphic and web design and marketing, a field that she worked in for seven years.
In 2013, she moved to Joplin with her husband Luke and has since opened her bakery Frosted Cakerie. It had always been her dream to open a bakery, and after spending several years sitting at a computer for work, she was ready to work with her hands.
“After making my husband's best friend's wedding cake, he encouraged me to pursue that dream,” Sheafer said.
As a small business owner, she has been unable to put as much time in her campaign as she’d like, but Sheafer still finds herself consistently driving across the district for candidate panel discussions, meet-and-greets and other campaign events.
“I work 80 hours a week,” Sheafer said. “So I can’t get out there as much as I want to and meet as many people as I would love to be able to, but I’m doing what I can to try to get the message out there that there’s an alternative to [Republican candidate] Eric Burlison.”
In one-on-one meetings, Sheafer encouraged by support
At a meet and greet earlier this month at Big Momma’s Coffee and Espresso Bar in Springfield, Sheafer met with supporters to hear their concerns and what they want to see in their next representative. Jim Fuqua, a Springfield resident and reliable Democrat voter, finally got the chance to meet Sheafer after interacting with her on social media throughout the campaign.
Fuqua expressed hope that voter turnout, especially female turnout for Democratic candidates, would be significant for this election due to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and its protection for abortion rights.
“Almost always given the chance nowadays, I’m going to vote for a woman,” Fuqua said. “This is really important for me because for 240-some years, men have been running this country and local politics and everything and they’ve done a really lousy job. I’m telling you, get some women in there to make decisions because they see the world differently than we do.”
Extremism front of mind for supporter, cooperation a rallying point for Sheafer
Phillip George came to talk with Sheafer and expressed his concerns with the extremism of the Republican Party, and his dismay in the Republican candidate.
“I’m disappointed with some of [Burlison’s] rhetoric,” George said. “Especially adopting some of the national Republican rhetoric. … I definitely think there is a much more mature candidate.”
For George, that candidate is Sheafer, and he wants her, and his vote, to be part of the solution.
“Just to be a part of the solution rather than the problems,” George said, referencing why he attended the event. “Being a part of the growing voice of Democrats in the area. … What can I do to be a part of a solution that leads to less polarization, less extremism.”
Sheafer wants Republican voters to be a part of that solution as well, and said she wants to represent everyone in the 7th District, not just Democrats.
“I feel like when I have conversations with Republicans, I can kind of show them I’m not a socialist, trying to indoctrinate your children,” she said. “I’m just trying to make sure that everyone has a more fair shot and that we can take care of our people in Southwest Missouri and give them opportunities. That’s kind of my universal message.”
Sheafer said a common criticism is that many people want to be on welfare, which she disagreed with, and reinforced that if opportunities were provided, people would take them.
“Everyone wants better opportunities, most people want to work, most people want to contribute to society,” she said. “But also, you have to recognize that working and contributing isn’t just punching in a time clock. It’s also raising your children, it’s also caring for your elderly parent, it’s also working at a food pantry, stuff like that. You may not be paid a lot of money or any money. These things are contributing to society, and they’re integral parts of what makes everything function.”
Former Joplin mayor helps lead Sheafer’s campaign
When Sheafer was initially weighing whether to run, former Joplin Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean was an encouraging and supportive voice, and now works as her campaign manager.
“I was still on the fence about it, whether or not I wanted to [run],” Sheafer said. “But if I have the support of somebody like her, if she actually believes I can, then I think there’s actually a chance that I could. So, I decided to go for it.”
Sheafer had heard rumors that Kean, who became connected with Sheafer from their time together on the board of the Downtown Joplin Alliance, was considering running for Congress. Sheafer initially prepared to provide her full support to Kean, but Kean decided she had no desire to run for representative after 14 years on the Joplin City Council and two as Joplin’s first Black mayor.
With limited money, Sheafer must find other means to spread message
Based on the most recent campaign finance data provided by the Federal Election Commission, Sheafer has $6,376 on hand, having raised a total of $11,391. Although she takes pride in having received the vast majority of contributions from small dollar donors, her funding pales in comparison to Burlison’s total receipts of $855,761, much of which had been spent in the competitive Republican primaries.
According to Sheafer, her campaign has not received any state support from the Missouri Democrats, and has had to rely on the 7th Congressional county Democratic offices to assist her campaign.
She attributes part of that to the fact that she doesn’t consider herself a “true” party line Democrat.
Contributors to her campaign include the Democrat Club of Chrisitan County and Democratic primary opponent Bryce F. Lockwood.
Despite the odds, Sheafer is working to make her message of unity and understanding resonate with voters come November.
“I am surrounded in my everyday life by people of all types of political beliefs, or no political beliefs,” Sheafer said. “When you get them talking, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying.’…We may have different opinions on how to get there, but we all want the same things. I don’t assume to know all the answers, but I’m a creative problem solver.
“My goal is to improve the lives of the people here, not bolster my image or become some viral success online or get in the news shows every night. I’m more interested in what I can do by putting my head down and working for the people, whether that’s a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda.”
