How did the Kansas City area vote on key Kansas and Missouri midterm races?

Natalie Wallington

Kansas City voters experienced some wins and some losses Tuesday night. The election results reflected the statewide voters of Kansas and Missouri — but vote totals show that those in the Kansas City area didn’t always agree with the outcomes for the entire states.

Here’s where Kansas City area voters stood on a handful of key midterm races, according to unofficial results reported by each election board. The percentage given in each case is the winning outcome in that particular county.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks to supporters at an election night.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks to supporters at an election night.

Kansas Governor

Johnson County: 58.8% of voters supported incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly.

Wyandotte County: 67.6% of voters supported incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly.

Kelly won reelection with an overall 49.2% of the vote. It was a victory that some have credited to her “middle of the road” messaging and focus on education and budget issues, which has won her the support of prominent Kansas Republicans. Read more about the close race for Kansas governor here.

Kansas 3rd District - U.S. House of Representatives

Johnson County: 56.6% of voters supported incumbent Democrat Sharice Davids.

Wyandotte County: 59.9% of voters supported incumbent Democrat Sharice Davids.

Davids won reelection with an overall 54.7% of the vote, despite Kansas’ redistricting earlier in the year that split her progressive Wyandotte County base between two new districts. Despite the steeper path to victory, Davids won by a bigger margin Tuesday than she did in 2020. Read more about her victory here.

Kris Kobach, the Republican nominee for Kansas attorney general, talks to the media before a GOP watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas.
Kris Kobach, the Republican nominee for Kansas attorney general, talks to the media before a GOP watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas.

Kansas Attorney General

Johnson County: 59.7% of voters supported Democrat Chris Mann.

Wyandotte County: 68.7% of voters supported Democrat Chris Mann.

Kris Kobach ultimately defeated Mann with an overall 51.2% of the vote. That puts Johnson and Wyandotte Counties strongly at odds with the statewide outcome. Read more about Kobach’s victory here.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt acknowledges the crowd of supporters at his election night watch party in St. Louis after winning the GOP primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt acknowledges the crowd of supporters at his election night watch party in St. Louis after winning the GOP primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022

Missouri U.S. Senator

Kansas City: 79.02% of voters supported Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.

Jackson County (outside of KC): 49.31% of voters supported Republican Eric Schmitt.

Clay County: 49.43% of voters supported Republican Eric Schmitt.

Platte County: 49.40% of voters supported Republican Eric Schmitt.

Cass County: 62.36% of voters supported Republican Eric Schmitt.

Schmitt won with 55.5% of the vote overall– an outcome that aligned narrowly with most of the counties in the Kansas City area. Voters within the purview of the Kansas City Election Board were the only ones in the metro who strongly favored Valentine, his opponent. Read more about his victory here.

Supporters of legal recreational marijuana in Missouri, gathered at Tasso’s Greek Restaurant, 8411 Wornall Road, Kansas City for a local election night watch party.
Supporters of legal recreational marijuana in Missouri, gathered at Tasso’s Greek Restaurant, 8411 Wornall Road, Kansas City for a local election night watch party.

Missouri marijuana amendment

Kansas City: 77.83% of voters supported legalizing marijuana.

Jackson County: 60.76% of voters supported legalizing marijuana.

Clay County: 61.36% of voters supported legalizing marijuana.

Platte County: 62.34% of voters supported legalizing marijuana.

Cass County: 53.71% of voters supported legalizing marijuana.

Amendment 3 passed with 53.1% of the vote. In general, Kansas City area voters were more strongly in favor of the measure than the state overall. Learn more about what this outcome means here.

Kansas City will need to dedicate 25% of its revenue to KCPD.
Kansas City will need to dedicate 25% of its revenue to KCPD.

Missouri police funding amendment

Kansas City: 61.38% of voters opposed letting the state increase the minimum KCPD funding.

Jackson County: 65.39% of voters supported letting the state increase the minimum KCPD funding.

Clay County: 64.78% of voters supported letting the state increase the minimum KCPD funding.

Platte County: 64.83% of voters supported letting the state increase the minimum KCPD funding.

Cass County: 69.76% of voters supported letting the state increase the minimum KCPD funding.

Amendment 4 passed with 63.2% of the vote. The counties around Kansas City supported the measure, despite the fact that the amendment will only impact Kansas City’s police department. Voters within Kansas City south of the Missouri River strongly opposed the measure. Learn more about what this outcome means here.

Do you have more questions about the results of Tuesday’s election in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.

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