How south Kansas City voted in the Aug. 4 election

Aug. 4 voters in south Kansas City and beyond made important decisions about future elections, state and county leadership, the petition process, affordable housing and more. Here’s a rundown of the election results and what to expect next.

Rep. Alford to face Herrera, Rep. Cleaver to face Brattin

Beginning in 2027, Missourians will be represented by new congressional districts redrawn by the Republican-led legislature. District 4 will represent west Kansas City and southern Jackson County, extending south and southeast near Springfield. District 5 will represent east Kansas City and the rest of northern Jackson County and extends as far east as Osage and Maries Counties. 

Jordan Herrera’s District 4 Democratic primary win puts him on the Nov. 3 ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives with incumbent Republican Mark Alford. He beat six other Democrats who were running for a chance to replace Alford.

Herrera, a constitutional lawyer and former military biomedical engineer from Nebraska, won the Democratic primary for District 4 with 19,850 votes, according to unofficial results provided by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office.

The election was close — Herrera won the primary with 30% of the vote, just three points more than progressive candidate Hartzell Gray III’s 27%.

Rep. Alford won the Republican primary for District 4 with 72,325 votes, or more than 77% of those voters.

Longtime incumbent Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, who represents District 5, will face Republican Rick Brattin for the seat in November. Brattin is a former marine and a current member of the Missouri Senate from Harrisonville. Brattin earned nearly 45% of the vote, or 34,863 votes. He beat candidate Taylor Burks, who trailed with 26% of the vote. Cleaver ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Stacy Lake enters Jackson County Executive race

Democratic voters in south Kansas City and beyond made big choices about Jackson County leadership in the Aug. 4 primary election. The choice for county leadership to voters in the Democratic primary was Stacy Lake, who earned more than 44.25% of the vote, according to the Jackson County Board of Elections. Trailing behind Lake were c

In 2022, Lake came close to beating former Executive Frank White. A lawyer specializing in civil litigation, this election, she beat two candidates with experience in the county and another who is the former mayor of Lee’s Summit. Now, she will face Republican Alan Rohlfing in the November race for Jackson County Executive. 

Lake previously told the Telegraph she was running because her previous campaign showed promise. Lake wants to reform and modernize Jackson County government through a seven-pronged “J.A.C.K.S.O.N.” plan, which stands for: 

• Justice System Reform;
• Auditing the County Government;
• County Wide Infrastructure Improvements;
• Keeping Taxes and Utilities Affordable;
• Small Business Rejuvenation;
• Ownership Initiative for Single Family Households;
• and a Neighbor to Neighbor Transportation Plan.

Legislator primaries choose Byron Townsend, Carla Fields, Donna Peyton

Just 3,790 people voted in a race specific to south Kansas City: the Democratic primary for Jackson County’s District 4 Legislator. Unopposed Republican Lon McDonald will run against the Democrats’ choice, Byron Townsend, who beat the only other candidate, John Maloney.

Townsend, a retired postal worker and member of the Hickman Mills School Board, earned just more than 61% of the vote, or 2,325 ballots. It was enough to beat Maloney, a Grandview Ward 3 Alderman and nonprofit administrator, who got the remaining 39% of votes.

Townsend previously told the Telegraph he was running because the county government is no longer working for the people, he said. He wants to fix a severed line of communication by encouraging citizen engagement with the county government.

For At-Large Legislator races, the “At-Large” means all of Jackson County votes in the race. In the Democratic primary for District 1’s At-Large Legislator, Carla Fields’ victory effectively unseats longtime incumbent Legislator Jalen Anderson. Fields, who is from south Kansas City but now lives in Independence, won with just over 50% of the vote to Anderson’s 25%. Fields, who attended the Hickman Mills and Grandview school districts, is also a partner at Fields Brown Law Offices. Her win puts her on the ballot against unopposed Republican Lance Pollard. 

In the Democratic primary for District 2’s At-Large Legislator, incumbent Legislator Donna Peyton was chosen for the Nov. 3 ballot over former State Rep. and city councilman Brandon Ellington. Peyton, who recently replaced fellow Legislator Manuel Abarca IV as Chair, earned about 73% of the vote. Her win puts her on the Nov. 3 ballot against unopposed Republican Gresia Cabrera.

How KC voted on petitions, income taxes and other statewide changes

As expected, Amendment 1 to continue Missouri’s soil and water management tax passed with flying colors — more than a million votes. Amendment 2, which removes the exception in the Missouri Constitution that allowed Jackson County to have an appointed assessor instead of electing one, also passed with more than a million votes. 

The hot-button issues in the statewide election — Amendments 4 and 5 — were shot down by a landslide, each earning about 1.1 million “no” votes. Nearly 90% of voters in Kansas City and Jackson County voted not to make the proposed changes to the petition process and income taxes, according to results from the Kansas City and Jackson County election boards. 

Proposed Amendment 4 would have ended statewide majority requirements for the initiative petition process in Missouri, instead requiring a majority in each congressional district.

Proposed Amendment 5 would have allowed the state to phase out the income tax levy and increase taxes on goods and services.

How KC voted on the city’s five proposed ballot questions

Each of Kansas City’s five proposed ballot questions passed overwhelmingly. Approved by voters on the Aug. 4, 2026 ballot were:

• A no-tax-increase $100 million general obligation bond to combat the shortage of affordable housing in Kansas City through constructing, rehabilitating and renovating houses and multifamily buildings, as well as removing blight;
• a no-tax-increase $100 million general obligation bond to renovate and improve aging city convention and government facilities such as Municipal Auditorium and City Hall, which were constructed before 1950;
• the continuation of a 1/8-cent sales tax for 10 years to fund central city economic development projects from 9th Street to Gregory Boulevard;
• a no-tax-increase $750 million revenue bond to rehabilitate and improve the city’s aging water system;
• a no-tax-increase $750 million revenue bond to rehabilitate, expand and improve the city’s aging sanitary sewer system.