Jon Patterson

The party won nearly every Republican-held district it targeted, scored unexpected victories in GOP strongholds and defended all its own seats.

Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson and Democratic state Rep. Keri Ingle are competing for a closely watched state Senate seat representing Lee's Summit and Blue Springs. The race could determine whether Republicans maintain their supermajority in the Missouri Senate.

Outgoing Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson and Rep. Keri Ingle are running in a competitive race to represent Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs and other cities in eastern Jackson County. Democrats are targeting the seat in hopes of breaking the state senate’s Republican supermajority.

In one of the state’s few competitive Senate races, the candidates draw contrasts over public schools, taxes and abortion.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has sent letters to about 1,000 registered voters notifying them that they’ve been flagged as potentially being noncitizens. The U.S. Supreme Court last week allowed the continued use of the SAVE database.

Other legislation that could be considered in the last week of the 2026 session includes a wide-reaching education bill and measures to limit vehicle inspections and raise the rural highway speed limit.

As a proposal to eliminate Missouri sales tax is put before voters this year, some workers worry efforts to offset the losses will make it hard to pay rent or put food on the table.

One day after the Missouri House Speaker threatened to block the effort, Kansas City Council members narrowly passed a ban on selling single-serve alcohol bottles in several specific neighborhoods.

Retiring Congressman Sam Graves endorsed Chris Stigall, a nationally syndicated talk radio host, to replace him. But that brought a fiery response from Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett, who dropped out of a race for an open state Senate seat to file for Congress.

Missouri state Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, a St. Louis Democrat, went public last week about having her drink spiked during last year's legislative session. House Speaker Jon Patterson has pledged support for her bill increasing penalties for those substances.

Lawmakers are leaving Jefferson City for a week having sent a total of four bills to Gov. Mike Kehoe's desk, one more than last year at this point.

If passed by voters, a proposed constitutional amendment would allow Missouri's legislature to expand state and local sales and use taxes, while eliminating the state income tax. The AARP and Democratic lawmakers said that would shift more of the cost on seniors and low-income residents.