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Mayor Mark Funkhouser Defeated in Primary

Mark Funkhouser is questioned, immediately post election-loss.
photo: Dan Verbeck/KCUR
Mark Funkhouser is questioned, immediately post election-loss.

Kansas City, Mo. – In the course of a few hours, Mark Funkhouser went from incumbent seeking a second term, to a lame duck Kansas City mayor. The power of being the office-holder failed the one-term mayor after votes were counted in Tuesday's city primary.

"I was pretty confident we would win," said Funkhouser. "I've always had a lot of confidence in the wisdom of regular folks and I figured that we would come through, alright."

The mayor blames his loss on a shortage of campaign money. And Funkhouser thinks the recession hurt the perception of his performance. After conceding his loss, he said his next step was to "go home, have a beer and relax."

Mayor Funkhouser's term expires in May.

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