Voters send new faces to Missouri legislature from Platte, Clay and Jackson counties

A Democrat flipped a Missouri House seat in Platte County on Tuesday night, while a Republican newcomer defeated a Democratic representative in Clay County.

Election night brought some changes to the Missouri Legislature. Other lawmakers held onto their seats in the Kansas City region.

Here’s a roundup of noteworthy wins:

Democrat flips seat in Platte County

Democrat Jamie Johnson, who serves as vice chair of the Platte County Democratic Central Committee, defeated Republican Tom Hutsler in the open race for House District 12 in Platte County.

Johnson won 52% of the vote, flipping the GOP-held seat following legislative redistricting, while Hutsler had 47%, according to unofficial results.

Johnson, who works in talent management, has made public education a centerpiece of her campaign, saying she wants lawmakers to prioritize paying teachers a competitive wage. She has noted Missouri ranks near the bottom for public school funding.

On her website, Johnson said her other priorities include supporting veterans, expanding Medicaid and protecting children from “senseless gun violence or accidents.”

Her opponent, Hutsler, is a prominent landlord and businessman in Parkville. He made news for filing a lawsuit against the Park Hill School District over a 2021 racial incident that ended with his 14-year-old son and three other boys being suspended for 180 days.

On Tuesday night, Johnson thanked voters on social media and included an image with the words, “Integrity matters.”

Republican defeats representative in Clay County

First-time candidate Bill Allen, a Republican of Kansas City, defeated Democratic Rep. Mark Ellebracht, who has held his House seat in Clay County for six years.

Democrats had feared the new legislative map posed a threat in the district. Their worries proved true, with Allen winning by 47 votes with a margin of 50.2% to 49.7%, according to unofficial results.

On his website, Allen said he wants to ensure that parents have a say in their children’s K-12 educations. He has also vowed to defend “religious freedoms for all.”

A U.S. Navy veteran, Allen wrote in a Ballotpedia survey that he hopes to leave the district better than he found it.

“From where we are now, that means lower inflation, lower gas prices, more education opportunities, and politicians that care about this District — not just running for office for the sake of it,” Allen wrote.

Dem wins open seat in Jackson County

Democrat Kemp Strickler, a retired senior data analytics manager at Hallmark, beat out his Republican opponent, J.C. Crossley, by 37 votes for the House District 34 seat in Jackson County.

Republicans had hoped to hold onto the seat, which was previously held by Rick Roeber, who was expelled from office after his adult children made allegations of abuse against him.

A resident of Lee’s Summit for 36 years, Strickler led marketing research and data analytics teams at Hallmark. At a forum put on by the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, Strickler said he would take that data experience to Jefferson City.

“It’s given me the experience that will help me talk to constituents and talk to subject matter experts to help find solutions to the challenging problems that we got here in Lee’s Summit,” he said.

Crossley, a small business owner, ran on a platform of “traditional, conservative values.”

Other lawmakers win re-election

Some lawmakers will continue their roles in the Missouri General Assembly after winning re-election Tuesday.

One of them is Republican Sen. Mike Cierpiot, who defeated Democrat Antoine Jennings in the race for District 8 in eastern Jackson County.

A Lee’s Summit Republican who’s typically aligned with GOP leadership, Cierpiot served in the Missouri House from 2010 until his election to the Senate in 2017. He has served on several important committees involving the state budget and K-12 education.

This past session, he drafted legislation that would have established new recall procedures for school board members and another that would have banned the use of tax credits to build homes in distressed areas.

In the Northland, Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democratic incumbent, held on to her seat by again defeating Republican Eric Holmes, an Army veteran, in the race for House District 14.

Aune was first elected in 2020, flipping a Republican-held seat. At the time, she defeated Holmes by a margin of 54% to 46%. On Tuesday, the results were nearly identical.

Asked as part of a recent Star survey if she had a position on an issue that crosses partisan lines, Aune said she is a Moms Demand Action volunteer, but also a gun owner who is married to a veteran.

“I just believe we can live in a world where we maintain our Second Amendment rights and also reduce gun violence of all kinds,” Aune said.

In Buchanan and Platte counties, Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2018, defeated Democrat Sarah Shorter in the state’s District 34. Luetkemeyer won by a margin of 59% to 40%.

In Jefferson City, Luetkemeyer has been a staunch supporter of law enforcement. He sponsored legislation that placed on the ballot an amendment that will require Kansas City to increase it police spending