Kansas City mayor hints at higher office run in 2028

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas inadvertently announced his intent to run for higher office in 2028.

Pete Mundo, host of Mundo in the Morning, gave Lucas the floor in the radio broadcast interview on May 28 to express his thoughts on Gov. Mike Kehoe’s plan to phase out Missouri’s income tax, which voters will decide on in August.

“I think the advice I’m giving is vote ‘no’ on every Missouri question and vote ‘yes’ on all the city questions,” said Lucas, who will complete his second and final term next year because of term limits.

“Vote no for the Missouri state questions – they are all complete and utter disasters.”

So far, the amendments on the August and November 2026 Missouri ballots are:

Amendment 1: Renews the use of 0.1% of existing taxes to fund state parks and water and soil conservation.

Amendment 2: Makes the Jackson County assessor an elected position.

Amendment 3: Bans abortion in most cases and makes child sex changes illegal.

Amendment 4: Requires a majority of voters from each congressional district, compared with the current statewide majority requirement, to approve constitutional amendments.

Amendment 5: Phases out the individual income tax.

Lucas, a Democrat, argued public schools would suffer under the income tax phaseout plan because of its effect on state government stability. However, Kehoe, a Republican, argued the plan intentionally preserves public school funding.

“This plan does not affect the funding of public education,” Kehoe said in a social media post. “This process is all about Missourians keeping more of their own money, not about defunding education.”

Mundo noted the proposed plan would decrease the income tax only if certain revenue benchmarks were met. The goal is to switch to a sales and use tax rather than an income tax system, he said. Lucas still likened a heavier sales tax to a “more responsible extramarital affair.”

“It’s still a terrible idea. It doesn’t make a difference,” Lucas claimed.

The mayor announced in March that he would not run for Congress this year, but he facetiously hinted at plans to run for an undisclosed office in 2028.

“If Mike Kehoe’s goal is to get Quinton Lucas elected governor, then heck yeah, maybe you should all vote ‘yes’ and I’ll be doing hits on this show for another 10 years to come,” Lucas said, regarding the phaseout plan and revealing his interest in running for Kehoe’s position. “Otherwise, we should actually be sane and vote ‘no’ on this. …

“Lucas for governor!”

The mayor said he plans to see what happens in the November election, including which positions become available in 2028, before deciding what he wants to run for.

“I’ll be around for something,” he told Mundo. “I like controversy, so I’ll be around for something fun in ’28.”

Lucas, 41, also expressed interest in national politics, teasing that his 2028 run might not be limited to state positions.

“I think the national discussion is very relevant to what happens here at home. … I’m just going to try to keep doing what I can as Kansas City mayor, and I will use my voice in Missouri and in Kansas and all around to do as much as I can.”

Photo credit: Mayor Quinton Lucas official photo (modified)