When state Sen. Karla May threw her hat into the ring Saturday for the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, some seemed surprised.
And at first blush, for obvious reasons.
May’s candidacy puts her in a field with ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, also a Black elected official from the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area.
Classic balloting behavior indicates that both of their appearances in the primary could split votes between May and Bell — thereby making victory easier for Lucas Kunce, a white Democrat from the Kansas City area.
But May said that at least one person should not have been surprised by May’s move: Wesley Bell.
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“I’d already told Wesley Bell I was running for the (U.S.) Senate; he knew I was running†before he announced his candidacy on June 7, May said.
Several sources, all veteran government game-watchers, said they began hearing about May’s intentions at least three months ago. “It was March or April, maybe,†one source said.
May said she kept her plans close to her vest, but did begin sharing it with key allies as long as a year ago. “I just did it quietly,†she said.
So the surprise candidate still seems to be Bell, who has never sought state or national office before.
May said she has no opinion of why Bell jumped into the race, which he did just one week after saying on local public television that he would not be seeking another office in the near future.
“I’m not sure how you go from (county) prosecutor to U.S. senator. That doesn’t seem to be a natural trajectory,†May said.
May was elected as a state representative in 2010, and then elected to the state Senate in 2018. She is term-limited after her current four-year stint expires in 2027. “I’ve been a legislator all that time,†she said.
Interestingly enough, another one of those who was on the outside of the Bell-for-Senate loop was ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who said she was unaware of the situation about two weeks before Bell joined the race.
In a text exchange on May 22 with Richard Callow, one of her main political advisers, Callow asked if Jones had heard the rumor that Bell was planning a Senate run.
Jones replied, “I talk to Wesley every other day. He hasn’t mentioned it.â€
But some actions on Bell’s part indicate that he may have been eyeing the Senate race in late April.
Recent filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission show that Bell began, in earnest, cleaning up his state campaign finance reports about six weeks before he made his surprise announcement.
In a four-week period from April 23 through May 21, Bell filed 33 amended campaign reports with the state.
The corrected reports covered reporting periods dating back to 2018, when he first was elected to his current post, and stretched forward to include his most recent report in April.
Miriam Wilhelm, a partner in a Clayton accounting firm, said she was contacted by the Bell camp, which had told her a discrepancy in an old report had been found.
The problem, Wilhelm said, was that the incorrect money totals kept getting carried over to each new report.
“I worked with the Missouri Ethics Commission on this,†she said. “So once I found the problem, (the MEC) said I had to go back and amend each report. You can’t just skip to the current one with the correct total.â€
Neither Bell nor May has filed any campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission for the U.S. Senate race.
The first FEC report from Bell is due on July 15, to cover the April-through-June quarter.
Meanwhile, the Kunce camp just keeps raising money.
In general terms, without specifying the amounts and donors which should be listed on the July 15 report, Kunce’s campaign reported that it raised $1.2 million in the second quarter (April through June) of 2023. That haul brings the 2023 total raised by Kunce to $2.3 million.
Along with the money, Kunce also has locked a number of endorsements from large labor unions, including the AFL-CIO of Missouri and the building/construction trade council of ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City.
This is not Kunce’s first run at a U.S. Senate seat. In 2022, he lost the Democratic primary to Trudy Busch Valentine, who went on to lose to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
Kunce, Bell and May, along with Columbia activist December Harmon, are aiming to win the August 2024 primary, with that winner most likely facing incumbent GOP Sen. Josh Hawley.
Hawley’s fundraisers recently reported that committees funding Hawley raised more than $3 million for the second fundraising quarter.
Two Hawley campaign committees have raised about $1.9 million, while the unaffiliated Show-Me Strong PAC has picked up about $1.2 million.