Mike Sanders, Crystal Williams, Dennis Waits and Frank White win in Jackson County races
Jackson County Democrats who hold county office had a very good election night.
Mike Sanders easily won his third four-year term Tuesday as county executive over two challengers.
Former Kansas City Royals great Frank White also had no trouble winning his first four-year term over his Republican opponent for the open seat left by retiring 1st District At-Large Legislator Theresa Garza Ruiz.
And legislators Crystal Williams, 2nd District at-large, and Dennis Waits, 3rd District, won re-election with all precincts reporting.
None of that was a surprise. What remains uncertain is how the dynamics of the Legislature might change after the swearing-in ceremony in January. While the partisan makeup will remain at seven Democrats and two Republicans, there will be four new faces, the most turnover in decades.
Besides White, the other newcomers are Democrats Alfred Jordan, 2nd District, and Tony Miller in the 3rd District at-large seat, as well as Republican Theresa Galvin, 6th District.
All ran unopposed, as did incumbents Scott Burnett, 1st District; Dan Tarwater, 4th District; and Greg Grounds, 5th District. Burnett and Tarwater are Democrats, while Grounds is a Republican.
With all precincts counted, Sanders had received 81,993 votes, while Republican Brice Stewart had 48,010 and Libertarian Richard Tolbert had 5,924.
White had 90,323 votes to 44,789 for Republican Weldon Woodward.
Williams got 70,588 votes to 56,281 for Republican Robert Stringfield and 5,653 for Libertarian Cisse Spragins.
Waits received 10,925 votes, while Republican Raymond Wilson got 9,661 and Richard McKie of the Constitution Party received 1,041.
To reach Mike Hendricks, call 816-234-4738 or send email to mhendricks@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published November 4, 2014 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Mike Sanders, Crystal Williams, Dennis Waits and Frank White win in Jackson County races."