City Council primary election results are in and a progressive wave seems certain for June’s general

Missourians cast their votes in the general election at the Greene County Election Center on Nov. 8, 2022. // Photo courtesy of the Greene County Clerk’s Office

The Kansas City City Council primary election was held this Tuesday, with almost all of the incumbent candidates projected to keep their seats, except for Brandon Ellington (3rd district at-large) who narrowly missed dropping out of the race.

The remaining six seats are still up for grabs, and with the new names coming into office, this may be the most progressive city council Kansas City has ever seen.

Tuesday’s City Council primary election narrowed the candidate pool, with only the top two candidates for each seat advancing to the general election, June 20. In races with only two candidates, both advanced automatically.

The next council will oversee large projects including our new baseball stadium and infrastructure renewal ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They are also expected to make weighty decisions around affordable housing, violent crime, and reestablishing trust in the KCPD.

Turnout for the Kansas City primary was 14%, a disappointing decrease from the 20% turnout in 2019. 

With only two candidates in the race for mayor, both will advance to the general election. However, incumbent Quinton Lucas took a giant leap in front of his opponent Clay Chastain, receiving 35,351 votes to Chastain’s 8,026. Chastain is notably a Virginia resident who frequently enters KC elections, to similar low support.

Wes Rogers (2nd district) and Ryana Parks-Shaw (5th district incumbent) are running unopposed in this election. The newcomer, Rogers, is a former Clay County assistant prosecutor, and he is running on a platform to improve Missouri public schools, protect workers’ rights, and increase access to affordable healthcare.

In the 1st District primary, candidates Nathan Willett and Chris Gahagan advanced and are looking to replace Heather Hall. Willet has a clear head start with 68% of the votes.

Melissa Patterson Hazley and incumbent Brandon Ellington also automatically advanced to the 3rd district at-large general election. Still, Ellington will have some serious catching up to do for the next few weeks to keep his seat. Hazley walked away with 63% percent of the votes.

Ellington is the only incumbent candidate in danger of losing his seat. Melissa Robinson (3rd district) can almost skip to the finish after receiving 85% of the votes against her solo opponent Sheri Hall. In addition, 6th district at-large Andrea Bough (61%), 1st district at-large Kevin O’Neill (65%), and 4th district Eric Bunch (55%) easily made it through to the general election.

KC Tenants Power had a standout election. Every candidate that they endorsed is moving on to the general election. This includes Jenay Manley (2nd at-large), Johnathan Duncan (6th district), Melissa Robinson (3rd district), Eric Bunch (4th district), Michael Kelley (5th district at-large), and Andrea Bough (6th district at-large). 

1st At-Large 

• Kevin O’Neill (incumbent): 27,254
• Ronda Smith: 8,590
• Pam Mason: 6,383

1st In-District (To replace Heather Hall)

• Nathan Willett: 5,149
• Chris Gahagan: 2,472.

2nd At-Large (To replace Teresa Loar)

• Lindsay French: 19,523 
• Jenay Manley: 14,260 
• Mickey Younghanz: 7,647

2nd In-District (To replace Dan Fowler)

• Wes Rogers: 5,038

3rd At-Large

• Melissa Patterson Hazley: 25,134
• Brandon Ellington (incumbent): 14,961

3rd In-District 

• Melissa Robinson (incumbent): 3,852
• Sheri Hall: 696

4th At-Large (To replace Katheryn Shields)

• Crispin Rea: 15,219
• Justin Short: 9,033
• Grace Cabrera: 6,860
• Jess Blubaugh: 5,700
• John DiCapo: 5,272

4th In-District 

• Eric Bunch (incumbent): 3,612
• Henry Rizzo: 1,675 
• Crissy Dastrup: 1,340

5th At-Large (To replace Lee Barnes)

• Darrell Curls: 14,898 
• Michael Kelley: 14,034 
• Theresa Cass Galvin: 12,846 

5th In-District 

• Ryana Parks-Shaw (incumbent): 5,542

6th At-Large 

• Andrea Bough (incumbent): 24,389 
• Jill Sasse: 8,053 
• Mary Nestel: 6,450

6th In-District (To replace Kevin McManus)

• Dan Tarwater: 5,297
• Johnathan Duncan: 2,799
• Tiffany Moore: 1,448 
• Cecelia Carter: 1,346
• Michael Schuckman: 742