As Friday morning began, House Committee on Transportation Chairman Sam Graves revealed that he will not seek re-election and call it quits after 13 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A Salem Media syndicated morning show host believes he has what it takes to succeed Graves in Congress, representing a swath of Missouri that includes Parkville, Kansas City International Airport, and such rural communities as Chillicothe and Kirksville.
Chris Stigall made the announcement on social media platform X just hours after The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Graves won’t seek a 14th term.
Could I have a couple of minutes? I’ve made a big decision. pic.twitter.com/c1gw0uyovq
— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) March 27, 2026
“This was very sudden news, so what I’m about to say is relatively sudden as well,” he said as he declared his candidacy for the 6th Congressional District of Missouri, as a Republican. Stigall referenced his 25 years behind the mic as a conservative talk host, addressing issues that face the nation. “In the last few years we’ve watched a government that became completely out of control,” he said. “It became something more than just Democrats and Republicans. We’re talking about lives ruined … Our friends and loved ones … Their educations, their careers, their livelihoods … From surveillance and censorship to mask and shot mandates, school closures and the forced closure of business … and then one man showed up.”
That would be the Commander-in-Chief, vilified across the U.S. on Saturday in “No Kings” rallies largely fueled by elder American liberal Democrats.
With Stigall aligning himself with the views of President Trump, the man who hosts the 6am-9am program on both the Salem Radio Network and companion Salem News Channel free ad-supported streaming television channel decided “it is time to join the fight … to fight for what made this country so great 250 years ago.”
Stigall added, “It’s time to put up or shut up. President Trump is going to need all the reinforcements he can get in Washington.”
What does that mean for Salem Media? Stigall is going to leave his show. When? That’s to be announced; Salem Media did not immediately offer a comment on the announcement.
Stigall is known for a podcast launched in 2019 that joined the Salem Podcast Network as 2023 began. Since November 2019, he had also been the host of the morning show at Salem-owned WNTP-AM 990 in Philadelphia. Before that, he was a morning host at WPHT-AM 1210 across the 2010s in Philadelphia and, additionally, a midday host at co-owned KCMO-AM in Kansas City.
