Post-Primary Election Day Downtown KC PAC Results
By Jared Campbell, Resident Engagement Project Manager at Downtown Council of Kansas City
Have you ever stopped to think about the impact that happens when you take a pencil and fill in a small bubble with graphite on a paper ballot? That small action, combined with hundreds and thousands of other filled-in bubbles, impacts the future direction of our communities, states, and country. Voters in Missouri, and throughout the country, had the chance to make their voices heard this past August 6th when the national primary election date was on the calendar.
The Downtown KC Political Action Committee (PAC) is the political advocacy body for the Downtown Council of Kansas City.
The PAC generates its budget through contributions from companies who want to support downtown advocacy through building relationships with local and state elected officials.
Typically, the Downtown KC PAC waits and gets involved in screening, endorsing, and contributing to candidates in the general election. This year, there were four races that the PAC decided were of such high priority that the group decided to weigh-in during the primary races as well.
The Downtown KC PAC met before the Primary Election Day and voted to endorse and contribute to the following candidates in their primary party races:
- Current State Representative Jon Patterson running for re-election for District 30
- Pat Contreras for the open State Senate District 7 seat which covers Downtown KC
- Current State Senator Lincoln Hough running for Lt. Governor
- Current Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe running for Governor
The PAC saw mixed results post-election day. Two candidates moved on to the general election on November 5th while two did not win their races.
- Representative Patterson advanced from his primary race to the general election. He is slated to become Speaker of the House for the 2025 Legislative Session. He has been an advocate for Downtown Kansas City and a strong supporter of both the South Loop Project and Historic Tax Credit reform.
- Business Executive and Civic Leader Pat Contreras did not advance in his State Senate District 7 primary against current State Representative Patty Lewis. We applaud Pat for his willingness to run for public office and look forward to working with Rep. Lewis in her new role as a state senator.
- State Senator Lincoln Hough narrowly lost his primary bid to be the Republican candidate for MO Lt. Governor on the November 5th ballot. With two more years on his current Senate term, we know we will continue to engage with Sen. Hough on issues important to Downtown KC.
- Gov. Mike Kehoe was successful in his campaign in the Republican primary for the MO Governor’s race and will be on the general election ballot this fall.
The PAC is turning our attention to the General Election Day in November.
Now is the time to get your company involved. A contribution of any amount will allow you to participate in candidate interviews. While a contribution of $2,000 will allow your company voting rights on the endorsement process. There are many important races impacting downtown and Kansas City including multiple state senate districts. We need your support so we can make contributions to our preferred candidates and help share the exciting story of Downtown KC to future state-level officials.
If your company would like to become a member of the PAC and help strengthen the relationship between downtown and our elected officials, please contact PAC Chair, Jerry Riffel at jerry.riffel@lathropgpm.com or Jared Campbell at jared@downtownkc.org.
