Karla May
Karla May (Democratic Party) is a member of theMissouri State Senate, representingDistrict 4. She assumed office in 2019. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.
May (Democratic Party) ran for election to theU.S. Senate to represent Missouri. She lost in the Democratic primary onAugust 6, 2024.
Biography
May earned her B.S. in business administration and M.A. in teaching. Her professional experience includes working at AT&T.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
May was assigned to the following committees:
2023-2024
May was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee
- Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee
- Joint Committee on Public Assistance
- Joint Committee on the Justice System
2021-2022
May was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee
- Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
- Joint Committee on Public Assistance
- Joint Committee on the Justice System
- Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee
2019-2020
May was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
- Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee
- Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee
- Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee
- Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Seniors, Families and Children Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Missouri committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| •Budget |
| •Transportation |
| •Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect |
| •Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, May served on the following committees:
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, May served on the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, May served on the following committees:
| Missouri committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| •International Trade and Job Creation |
| •Urban Issues |
| •Workforce Development and Workplace Safety |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2024
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Missouri
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Missouri on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Josh Hawley (R) | 55.6 | 1,651,907 |
 | Lucas Kunce (D) | 41.8 | 1,243,728 | |
| W. C. Young (L) | 1.2 | 35,671 | ||
 | Jared Young (Better Party)  | 0.7 | 21,111 | |
 | Nathan Kline (G) | 0.7 | 20,123 | |
 | Gina Bufe (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 19 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,972,559 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Zack Exley (Independent)
- Doris Canaday (Socialist Equality Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
Lucas Kunce defeatedKarla May,December Harmon, andMita Biswas in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lucas Kunce | 67.6 | 255,775 |
 | Karla May | 23.2 | 87,908 | |
 | December Harmon | 7.1 | 26,804 | |
 | Mita Biswas | 2.0 | 7,647 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 378,134 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Wesley Bell (D)
- Samuel Rutherford (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
IncumbentJosh Hawley advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Hawley | 100.0 | 607,602 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 607,602 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
W. C. Young advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | W. C. Young | 100.0 | 2,437 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,437 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for May in this election.
2022
See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Missouri State Senate District 4
IncumbentKarla May defeatedMary Theresa McLean in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karla May (D) | 74.2 | 51,419 |
| Mary Theresa McLean (R) | 25.8 | 17,906 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 69,325 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 4
IncumbentKarla May advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 4 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karla May | 100.0 | 24,644 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 24,644 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 4
Mary Theresa McLean advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 4 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mary Theresa McLean | 100.0 | 5,506 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 5,506 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Missouri State Senate District 4
Karla May defeatedRobert Crump in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 4 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karla May (D) | 77.1 | 56,883 |
 | Robert Crump (R) | 22.9 | 16,927 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 73,810 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 4
Karla May defeated incumbentJacob Hummel in the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 4 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Karla May | 57.2 | 20,204 |
 | Jacob Hummel | 42.8 | 15,137 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 35,341 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 4
Robert Crump advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 4 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Crump | 100.0 | 4,731 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 4,731 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for theMissouri House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 29, 2016.
IncumbentKarla May ran unopposed in the Missouri House of Representatives District 84 general election.[1]
| Missouri House of Representatives, District 84 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Karla MayIncumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source:Missouri Secretary of State | ||
IncumbentKarla May ran unopposed in the Missouri House of Representatives District 84 Democratic primary.[2][3]
| Missouri House of Representatives, District 84 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Karla MayIncumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for theMissouri House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 25, 2014. IncumbentKarla May was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.[4][5][6]
2012
May won re-election in the2012 election forMissouri House of Representatives, District 84. May defeatedHope Whitehead andMike Owens in the August 7 Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Karla MayIncumbent | 44.1% | 2,470 |
| Mike Owens | 32.9% | 1,842 |
| Hope Whitehead | 23% | 1,287 |
| Total Votes | 5,599 | |
2010
On November 2, 2010, May won election to theMissouri House of Representatives. She was unopposed in the general election.
May defeated incumbentHope Whitehead in the Democratic primary on August 3 by a margin of 1,380-1,342. Whiteheadfiled a lawsuit on August 24 challenging the results.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | U.S. Senate Missouri | Lost primary | $62,033 | $61,772 |
| 2022 | Missouri State Senate District 4 | Won general | $162,984 | $141,818 |
| 2018 | Missouri State Senate District 4 | Won general | $50,156 | N/A** |
| 2016 | Missouri House of Representatives, District 84 | Won | $44,065 | N/A** |
| 2014 | Missouri House of Representatives, District 84 | Won | $10,575 | N/A** |
| 2012 | Missouri State House, District 84 | Won | $36,175 | N/A** |
| 2010 | Missouri State House, District 57 | Won | $38,977 | N/A** |
| 2006 | Missouri State House, District 57 | Lost | $4,560 | N/A** |
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Missouri scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, theMissouri State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 17.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, theMissouri State Legislature was in session from January 4 to May 12.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theMissouri State Legislature was in session from January 5 to May 13.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theMissouri State Legislature was in session from January 6 to May 14.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, theMissouri State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 15. A special session was held from July 27 to September 16. A veto session convened on September 16. A second special session convened on November 5.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 9 through May 30
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 3 through May 18.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 4 through May 12. The legislature held its first special session from May 22 to May 26. The legislature held its second special session from June 12 to July 25. The legislature held a special session on September 13.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 6 through May 13.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 7 through May 15.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 8 through May 19.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, theMissouri General Assembly was in session from January 9 through May 30.
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Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Karla May did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2024
Code:
Interview withSt. Louis Public Radio
Karla May highlighted the following themes in an interview withSt. Louis Public Radio published on July 15, 2024. Text from theSt. Louis Public Radio article follows below.[9]
| “ | May also said she is supportive of Israel, adding that the United States needs to back its allies — and be willing to criticize their political leadership when they’re wrong. | ” |
2022
Karla May did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate U.S. Senate Missouri | Officeholder Missouri State Senate District 4 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "2016 general election results," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "Certified Candidate List," accessed April 28, 2016
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "State of Missouri - Primary 2016 - August 2, 2016," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "All Results - State of Missouri - Primary Election - August 5, 2014," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "Certified Candidate List - Primary Election," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "All Results-State of Missouri-General-November 4, 2014: Unofficial Results," November 8, 2014
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "Nov 6, 2012 General Election - All Results," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑Missouri Secretary of State, "Aug 7, 2012 Primary - All Results," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑St. Louis Public Radio, “Karla May says her statewide recognition means she can beat Lucas Kunce in Senate primary,” July 24, 2024
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- 2016 general election (winner)
- 2016 incumbent
- 2018 challenger
- 2018 general election (winner)
- 2018 primary (winner)
- 2022 general election (winner)
- 2022 incumbent
- 2022 primary (winner)
- 2024 challenger
- 2024 primary (defeated)
- Current member, Missouri State Senate
- Current state legislative member
- Current state senator
- Democratic Party
- Former member, Missouri House of Representatives
- Former state representative
- Missouri
- Missouri House of Representatives candidate, 2016
- Missouri State Senate candidate, 2018
- Missouri State Senate candidate, 2022
- State House candidate, 2016
- State Senate candidate, 2018
- State Senate candidate, 2022
- State house candidates
- State senate candidates
- U.S. Senate candidate, 2024
- U.S. Senate candidates
- State senators first elected in 2018
- 2014 incumbent
- State House candidate, 2014
- 2014 primary (winner)
- 2014 general election (winner)
- 2014 unopposed
- 2014 unopposed primary and general election
- 2016 primary (winner)
- State representative termed out, 2018
- Former state legislators
