When are the presidential primaries and caucuses in Missouri and Kansas? What to know
The 2024 presidential election may feel ages away, but Kansas City is only about a month out from its first primary contest.
In Kansas, the state will hold a primary election for both the Republican and Democratic candidates in March.
In Missouri, it’s more complicated: State legislators voted to remove state-run presidential primary elections in 2022. Instead, the Republican party will hold its primary caucuses while the Democrats will hold a party-run primary election, also both in March.
Here’s how to weigh in on each primary race for the presidency.
Kansas presidential primary elections
Kansas’ presidential primary election for both major parties will be held on Tuesday, March 19. Four candidates have qualified for each party’s ballot in Kansas, and only voters affiliated with one of these two major parties can vote on its primary ballot.
Unlike in Missouri, you must be officially affiliated with a party in order to cast your vote on its primary ballot. Independents and voters affiliated with minor parties can’t participate in this election.
Here’s who made the ballots for each party.
Democrat:
Dean Phillips
Jason Michael Palmer
Joseph R. Biden Jr. (incumbent)
Marianne Williamson
Republican:
Donald J. Trump
Nikki R. Haley
Ron DeSantis
Ryan L. Binkley
The deadline to register to vote and declare your party affiliation ahead of this primary election is Tuesday, Feb. 20. You can confirm your voter registraiton and find your polling place through Kansas’ Voter View website.
Missouri Republican caucuses
The Missouri Republican Party chooses its delegates to send to the Republican National Convention through a caucus system. Caucuses will take place in each county on Saturday, March 2 starting at 9 a.m. Here’s where they’ll be held in the Kansas City area:
Jackson County: East Trails Middle School Gymnasium at 1001 SE Bailey Rd. in Lee’s Summit
Clay County: Oak Park High School at 825 NE 79th Terrace in Kansas City
Platte County: Walden Middle School Gym, 4701 NW 56th St, Kansas City
A caucus is a gathering of registered voters that physically gather in groups to indicate their support for primary candidates. In Missouri, if a primary candidate receives less than 15% of the voters present, their voters will be asked to choose another candidate.
Then, if one candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, they will win all the delegates in their Missouri county. If no primary candidate breaks 50%, the delegates will be split proportionally between them based on the number of votes they receive.
The breakdown of support between Missouri’s 924 Republican state-level delegates will be used to decide who its 54 national delegates will support.
Missouri Democratic party-run primary election
The Democratic party-run primary election in Missouri will take place on Saturday, March 23. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. until noon.
The party intends to have at least one polling place open in each county, with additional polling places in Kansas City and St. Louis. The specific locations of these polling places have not yet been announced. Here’s who will appear on the ballot:
Joseph R Biden, Jr.
Dean Phillips
Stephen P Lyons
Armando Perez-Serrato
Marianne Williamson
Jason Michael Palmer
The Missouri Democratic Party anticipates announcing the results of this primary election by Thursday, March 28. These results will then be used to determine who Missouri’s 71 delegates will support at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.
How minor parties choose their presidential candidates
The Libertarian Party and Green Party choose their presidential and vice-presidential nominees at their national conventions, and their primary systems vary by state. Independent candidates are not selected through a convention or primary process.
Libertarian delegates from each state will meet in Washington, D.C. over the weekend of May 24, 25 and 26 and use ranked-choice voting to choose the party’s nominee for president. Neither Kansas nor Missouri will hold Libertarian primary elections ahead of the convention.
Green Party delegates will meet virtually on July 11 through 14 to choose their party’s nominees. The Green Party has not replied to a request for more information about whether it plans to hold primaries in Missouri or Kansas.
Do you have more questions about participating in the 2024 presidential election? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
