ELECTION GUIDE: What you need to know for the Missouri, Kansas primary elections (2024)

By Greg Dailey and The Associated Press

Published: Aug. 2, 2024 at 10:09 AM CDT|Updated: Aug. 6, 2024 at 10:42 PM CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Thousands of Missourians and Kansans will head to the polls on Aug. 6, to decide federal, state, and county races in the primary elections.

WHEN CAN I VOTE?

Polling locations in Missouri open at 6 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m.

All polls in the state of Kansas open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

WHERE CAN I VOTE?

To find your voting location in Missouri, visit the Secretary of State website and enter the necessary information. Present a valid government-issued photo ID (e.g. Missouri driver’s license, Missouri nondriver license, U.S. Passport, military ID).

To find your voting location in Kansas, visit the Secretary of State website and enter the necessary information. State law requires Kansas voters to show photo ID when casting an in-person vote (e.g. Kansas driver’s license, Kansas nondriver license, U.S. Passport, military ID).

SAMPLE BALLOTS

Missouri voters may be able to view their sample ballots at the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Lookup.

Kansas voters can view sample ballot information on the Secretary of State’s Voter View website.

MISSOURI CANDIDATES

Incumbent Josh Hawley is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. On the Democratic side, Karla May, December L. Harmon, Lucas Kunce and Mita Biswas will face each other for their nomination. W.C. Young is the Libertarian candidate.

Democratic incumbent Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and Republican Jackson County County legislator Sean Smith are running unopposed for their respective parties in the race for Missouri House District 5.

Former state Sen. Bob Onder was the only candidate to receive Trump’s endorsem*nt in a crowded primary to replace retiring Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer in the 3rd Congressional District. Onder is the top fundraiser, followed by former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer. State Rep. Justin Hicks dropped out of the race, but his name still appears on the ballot. Three other Republicans are also on the ballot in this Republican-leaning district.

Perhaps the most hotly-contested race in the Show-Me State will be for the Republican nominee to replace outgoing Governor Mike Parson. Former president Donald Trump has endorsed Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe and Bill Eigel.

Ashcroft is Missouri’s secretary of state and the son of John Ashcroft, the former Missouri governor, U.S. senator and attorney general under President George W. Bush. When he announced his widely anticipated bid for governor last spring, he had already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaign account and had support from a political action committee that had raised more than $1 million.
Kehoe has the backing of term-limited Gov. Mike Parson and has raised more than $4 million for his race. A PAC supporting him, American Dream PAC, is spending more than $8 million on advertising, according to data from AdImpact. Before Parson named him lieutenant governor in 2018, Kehoe represented a state Senate district west of Jefferson City, which included Cole County.
Eigel, an Air Force veteran, represents a state Senate district that includes part of St. Charles County, north of St. Louis. Eigel and a PAC supporting him have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads. “They’ll call us racist, sexist — God knows what else,” he says, speaking directly to the camera, in an ad touting Trump’s endorsem*nt. “That’s how we’ll know we’re winning.”

While Republican spending on the Missouri governor’s race has dwarfed that of Democrats, Springfield businessman Mike Hamra’s campaign is spending $2.8 million in advertising, according to AdImpact. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade lags far behind in ad spending but boasts a long list of endorsem*nts from state legislators and local unions. She represents part of Greene County, home to Springfield.

The race for the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor includes:

Holly Rehder
Dave Wasinger
Lincoln Hough
Paul Berry III
Tim Baker
Matthew E. Porter

The Democratic candidates for the nominee to be Missouri’s lieutenant governor are Richard Brown and Anastasia Syes.

Elad Gross is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. Incumbent Andrew Bailey and former federal prosecutor Will Scharf are squaring off for the Republican nomination.

Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary for Missouri Secretary of State:

Mike Carter
State Sen. Mary Coleman
Jaime Corley
Valentina Gomez
State Sen. Denny Hoskins
State House Speaker Dean Plocher
Shane Schoeller
State Rep. Adam Schwardon

Monique Williams, Barbara Phifer and Haley Jacobson are running for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state.

In the race for Jackson County prosecutor, Stephanie Burton, John Gromowsky and Melesa Johnson are running for the Democratic nomination, while Tracey Chappell will be unopposed on the Republican side.

Jackson County voters will also decide on a party nominee for prosecutor.

KANSAS CANDIDATES

In the 2nd Congressional District, both Democrats and Republicans are holding primaries to succeed two-term GOP U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, who announced in April he would not seek reelection. Among the five candidates seeking the Republican nomination is Derek Schmidt, the former three-term state attorney general who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in the 2022 gubernatorial election. Also seeking the nomination are former LaTurner aide and Trump-era Health and Human Services official Jeff Kahrs, rancher Shawn Tiffany and two others. Schmidt has led the field in campaign contributions, with Kahrs largely keeping pace as of mid-July.

Democrats also have a contested primary, featuring former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who served one term from 2007 to 2009, and Matt Kleinmann, a community health advocate and former University of Kansas basketball player.

LaTurner won reelection in 2022 with 58% of the vote. Voters in the 2nd District gave Republican Donald Trump 56% and 57% of the vote in the 2016 and 2020 presidential races, respectively.

In the 3rd Congressional District, two Republicans are vying for the nomination to challenge three-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who is the state’s lone Democratic member of Congress. The GOP primary pits physician Prasanth Reddy against small business owner and community activist Karen Crnkovich. Reddy has raised and banked almost 10 times as much as Crnkovich in campaign cash as of mid-July, though both significantly trail the incumbent’s war chest.

Davids received 55% of the vote in her 2022 reelection bid. She represents the state’s only swing district. Voters there preferred Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton, 48% to 43%, in 2016. But they gave Democrat Joe Biden 51% of the vote in 2020.

All seats in the state legislature are up for election this year, with 16 state Senate and 25 state House seats facing contested primaries on Tuesday. Republicans have safe majorities in both chambers.

For the Johnson County sheriff race, incumbent Calvin Hayden is running against Doug Bedford for the Republican nomination. Byron K. Roberson is the lone Democrat running in the primary.