Missouri Democrat Jason Kander eyeing run for Kansas City mayor

Missouri Democrat Jason Kander is laying the groundwork for a run to succeed Sly James as mayor of Kansas City, The Kansas City Star has learned.

In a strong sign that Kander is serious about entering the race, he called former Kansas City mayor Emanuel Cleaver in the past few days to tell him he was running, a source familiar with the conversation said. Cleaver, a Democrat, now serves as the congressman for Kansas City in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A Kander candidacy would drastically change the dynamic of a crowded mayoral race — it also would put to rest rumors that Kander would run for president in 2020.

"As he has been over the past few months, Jason is deciding how he can best serve," said Abe Rakov, Kander's former campaign manager and executive director of his nonprofit, Let America Vote.

Kander is an Army veteran and a former Missouri secretary of state who served two terms in the Missouri House. In 2016, he narrowly lost a senate race against Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in an election year that strongly favored Republicans. He has spent the last two years out of office building his profile as a voting rights advocate and rising star on the national Democratic scene.


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