Who’s all on your ballot Aug. 2? Here’s your voter guide to the Missouri primary election
Missouri voters will have the chance to cast a primary ballot on Aug. 2 for representatives in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., and in the Missouri State Senate and House of Representatives in Jefferson City.
On Election Day, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can check your voter registration and find your polling place through the Missouri secretary of state.
A lot is on the line for the future of the state, and at The Star, we believe that our democracy is stronger when more people have the information they need to participate in and shape it. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to decide who is most likely to make choices you believe will best serve you and your community.
Below are candidates’ responses to a short survey shaped by what we heard from nearly 60 readers who shared questions with The Star.
The most common issues readers asked the candidates to weigh in on that we included in the survey were: abortion rights, gun laws, the state of K-12 education in Missouri and the cost of living. The next most-asked about topic was climate change.
Go directly to a race
How the voter guide works:
Click on the race you are curious about, and the candidate names and their responses will be listed in the order that they will appear on your ballot. You can filter by political party to see what will be on your party’s primary ballot, or by district, depending on the race.
Candidates for Jackson County legislature and Jackson County executive will be added later this week.
Any candidates that do not have answers below their names did not respond to the survey. Our team at The Star contacted campaigns multiple times via both email and phone calls over the past several weeks.
If you are a candidate and would like to get in touch with us and submit responses still, you can email us at kcq@kcstar.com.
A note on editing and fact-checking:
Some survey responses were very lightly edited for grammar, but the substance of the responses were not edited at all and are the candidates’ own words. The Star did not fact-check all of the candidates’ responses.
If you are concerned about misinformation or would like to learn more about some of the issues referenced in candidates’ responses, we wanted to include the following resources from The Star’s past reporting:
How to spot misinformation: How to tell if a politician is lying? A scholar who studies what they say has some advice
Election integrity: In Missouri, 2020 election conspiracies persist as Jan. 6 attack anniversary approaches
Gas prices, inflation and President Biden: As inflation hits 41-year high, prices in KC become a concern and political flashpoint and What’s the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and will tapping into it lower gas prices?
Gun laws: How easy is it to buy a gun in Missouri and Kansas? These are the laws in each state and Missouri law undercuts domestic violence ‘boyfriend’ fix in U.S. Senate deal on guns
School choice: Missouri bills would require KCPS to pay millions to charters, allow students to enroll elsewhere
Parents’ bill of rights: ‘Protecting’ kids or ‘assault’ on teachers? Missouri House passes parents bill of rights
Critical race theory: Critical race theory roils Kansas and Missouri politics. Here’s what it is and is not
U.S. Senate
Senators create and vote on bills that can become federal laws if also passed through the House of Representatives and signed by the president. Senators also hold hearings on different issues, confirm people the president appoints to certain positions in the federal government and try impeachment cases for federal officials.
Each state gets two senators that serve six-year terms in Congress in Washington. Missouri’s current senators are Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and Republican Sen. Roy Blunt. Sen. Blunt is retiring, so his seat is open this year.
To see candidate responses to our questions, please go to the article on our website.
U.S. House
The representatives for the state of Missouri serve the people of their district in Congress in Washington, D.C. for two-year terms. The representatives create and vote on bills that can become federal laws if also passed through the Senate and signed by the president, and serve on committees. The House of Representatives is the chamber of Congress that first introduces spending bills and can impeach federal officials. Missouri has eight U.S. representatives.
If you don’t know your district, look here.
State Auditor
This independent watchdog position investigates and combats waste, fraud and corruption in state government and ensures that taxpayers’ money is being spent responsibly. The position is currently held by Democrat Nicole Galloway, who is not running for re-election.
State Senate
The Senate works with the state House of Representatives and the governor of Missouri to create laws and establish a state budget. Their responsibilities include passing bills, setting levels for state spending, raising and lowering taxes and voting to uphold or override vetoes. The Senate has 34 members.
If you don’t know your district, look here, enter your address, scroll down and click on “view my districts.”
State House of Representatives
Members in the Missouri House of Representatives work with the State Senate and the governor to create laws and establish a state budget. Their responsibilities include passing bills, setting the budget for state spending, raising and lowering taxes and voting to either uphold or override vetoes. There are 163 members of Missouri’s House of Representatives.
If you don’t know your district, look here, enter your address, scroll down and click on “view my districts.”
