KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Incumbent U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver II, Sam Graves and Vicky Hartzler cruised to primary victories Tuesday across the Kansas City area.
Cleaver, a Democrat who became KCMO’s first Black mayor in 1991, is seeking a ninth term. He was first elected to the post in 2004.
Cleaver — who represents the 5th District, which includes most of Jackson County, part of Clay County and all of Ray, Lafayette and Saline counties — received nearly 84% of the vote against challenger Maite Salazar and will face Ryan Derks, who won a tight Republican primary, in November.
Derks received 11,427 votes — or 33.4% — to edge Jerry Barham, who received 11,213 votes — or 32.8%. Clay Chastain finished a distant third in the primary with 18.5% of the vote.
This will be Cleaver’s first election since 2004 in which he won’t face Jacob Turk as the Republican nominee.
Graves — a Republican who represents District 6, which encompasses the northern third of Missouri and includes suburbs north of KCMO — received 80% of the vote against challenger Chris Ryan.
Graves was first elected in 2000 and will be seeking an 11th term.
Gena Ross won the Democratic primary from a field of five candidates, but she’ll face an uphill battle. Graves has received 65% of the vote or more in the last five general elections.
Hartzler — a Republican who represents District 4, which includes Cass County — received more than 76% of the vote against challenger Neal Gist.
She will face Lindsey Simmons, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and Steven Koonse, who won the Libertarian primary, in the general election.
Hartzler is seeking a sixth term since ousting incumbent Ike Skelton, a Democrat, during the 2010 election. She’s received at least 60% of the vote every two years since winning the office.
The general election is Nov. 3 and all three incumbents will be heavy favorites.
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