Sly James cruises through primary, Clay Chastain can stay in Virginia, and other KCMO election news

The least dynamic primary election in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday settled itself with Sly James trouncing his two hapless opponents. 

James picked up 26,840 votes, easily distancing himself from his upcoming general election opponent Vincent “The General” Lee, who snagged 3,499 votes.

The only somewhat surprising reality in the Kansas City mayor’s race is that Clay Chastain couldn’t overcome Lee, who has done little in his own right to promote his campaign. Chastain, who for years could hang his hat on being the only person to convince voters to approve a citywide rail transit plan, can stay out to pasture in Virginia.

The outcome should be an embarrassing one for Chastain, who had no concept of how to campaign outside of telling news reporters over and over that they should cover him (which comes at no cost to Chastain). 

Chastain has said this race is his last attempt at involvement with Kansas City, but he has said that many times before.

In other KCMO council races:

The 1st District race suddenly becomes the most intriguing council contest. Upstart candidate Heather Hall won the primary in a surprise. Hall, whose candidacy is distinguished by her skepticism about Kansas City’s need for its one-cent earnings tax, finished ahead of incumbent Dick Davis.

Davis, whose public involvement has included high-level positions with the Mid-America Regional Council and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, trailed former firefighters union boss Louie Wright in early election returns. But Davis edged Wright by 32 votes by the end of the night, according to unofficial results. 

The big question in the 1st District heading into the June general election is whether the voters who supported Wright and Jane Reinhart will now throw their support behind Davis, or whether they cross over to Hall in large numbers. A Davis candidacy is favorable for James, while Hall’s presence on the council could be a pain for City Hall establishment, particularly as the city gears up to try to renew the e-tax.

In the 1st District At-Large race, incumbent Scott Wagner easily outpaced largely unknown Jeff Roberts and figures to be a heavy favorite in the general election.

Dan Fowler will win the 2nd District race; his opponent Bill Super was still on the ballot but withdrew earlier in the campaign.

Former Kansas City Councilwoman Teresa Loar nearly doubled the votes that her opponent Jay Hodges fetched in the 2nd District At-Large contest. Both, of course, will advance to the general election, but Hodges has his work cut out for him, particularly given that he, by his own admission, has almost no name recognition.

Jermaine Reed had a surprisingly strong showing in the 3rd District race, winning more than half of the votes cast in a crowded primary. Reed has been the subject of discontentment on Kansas City’s East Side, but his supporters showed up for him on Tuesday. Jamekia Kendrix, who has run an impressive campaign, has significant ground to cover between now and the general election.

Quinton Lucas will probably win the general election after posting an overwhelming advantage over his primary opponents. Stephan Gordon will advance to the general, but is a long shot.

Jolie Justus more than doubled the vote tally against Mattie Rhodes CEO John Fierro for the 4th District race. Both advance but former Missouri Sen. Justus figures to run away with this race.

After the 1st District contest, the 4th District At-Large race becomes the most compelling general election contest. Incumbent Jim Glover posted a narrow first-place finish in Tuesday’s primary. On his heels is former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields, who is attempting a political comeback after a turbulent end to her career as Jackson County’s top politician. Jared Campbell, a political newcomer out of downtown Kansas City, finished a distant third to Glover and Shields. Campbell ran a spirited campaign, but he came nowhere close to competing with two well-known candidates. 

Jackson County assistant prosecutor Alissia Canady was the top vote-getter in the 5th District race. But Ken Bacchus was only 54 votes behind her, making for a close race heading into June.

Lee Barnes is the frontrunner by a long ways in the 5th District At-Large race. He finished far ahead of Dennis Anthony, who has run an invisible campaign. Cindy Circo, the outgoing council member from the 5th District At-Large, tried to prop up a write-in campaign for Dwayne Williams, but few followed. It was the second embarrassment Circo suffered in trying to line up a preferred candidate for her seat. (Theresa Garza Ruiz, who for a time lived in Circo’s basement, dropped out of the race when residency questions began to pile up.)

Missouri Rep. Kevin McManus is the heavy favorite to replace termed-out 6th District councilman John Sharp. McManus easily powered ahead of Terrence Nash, who posted a surprise second-place finish over Henry Klein, who in the past two mayoral primaries has posted serviceable results. 

Scott Taylor is unopposed in the 6th District At-Large.