Elections

Missouri doesn't have a marquee statewide race next year. But the results of some contests, including a Republican-written ballot measure to undo abortion rights, could be a big sign of a Democratic wave or continued GOP dominance.

All six PV United candidates lost their races for council seats. The Prairie Village group and its efforts have consumed council chambers for the past three years — notably their opposition to affordable housing and subsequent effort to "abandon" the city's form of government.

Voters around the Kansas City area went to the polls Tuesday to vote on issues critical to their local communities. The metro area saw city council upsets, a win for the four-day school week, and a history-making new mayor, among other results.

All six candidates who supported moving forward with the $30M municipal complex project were leading big on Election Night. A proposal to abandon the current mayor-city council form of government failed.

Independence adopted the shorter school week two years ago to attract and retain more teachers. More than 61% of voters decided on Tuesday that the school district can continue its four-day week.

Missouri Republicans are facing the sobering reality that the new congressional map they passed in September isn’t a done deal. A voter-led referendum could derail the GOP’s plans for more favorable congressional lines.

On Nov. 4, voters around Kansas City will decide a number of critical local issues in their communities, including multiple mayoral races, whether to "abandon" Prairie Village's form of government, if Independence can keep its four-day school week, and more.

The Independence board of education first approved a four-day school week in December 2022 to help recruit and retain teachers amid a chronic shortage across the state. Whether the district can keep its shortened week, though, will be decided by voters on Tuesday.

A new Missouri law requires certain school districts to get voter approval to start or continue the four-day week. The Independence School District, which is by far the state's largest district on the shortened week, will put the issue before voters on Nov. 4.

Kansas City has been in the national news a lot lately, including one surprising place: stories about the New York City mayoral election. Many national news outlets, most of them conservative-leaning, have zeroed in on candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposals for free bus fare and government-run grocery stores, and they’re using Kansas City as a negative example of both.

Christal Watson and Rose Mulvany Henry are the two names on next week's ballot vying to replace Tyrone Garner as the next mayor and CEO of the Unified Government. They joined KCUR's Up To Date to lay out their respective visions for the future of their community.

Kansas City ended free bus fares and saw a grocery store shutter. Both issues showed up in the New York City mayoral race, where conservative outlets used the city's policies to attack leading candidate Zohran Mamdani.