First-time candidate Lily Wu and incumbent Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple pushed their way to the front of a crowded field to emerge from Tuesday’s primary election.
The two will now meet Nov. 7 in the general election.
Wu came out with 30% of the vote, according to unofficial results, with Whipple at about 24%. Whipple hung on to finish second with less than 400 votes separating him from current City Council member Bryan Frye.
At his watch party in downtown Wichita, Whipple said he’s going to fight for a second term against a candidate he said is backed by the “richest, most elite politicals” in the country.
“Lily Wu has never once balanced a budget, never once done anything that has to do with public policy,” Whipple said. “She has a ton of money, but I think Wichitans want results.”
Wu, a former television reporter, raised a record amount of money for the mayor’s race, $207,202, since the beginning of the year.
Wu’s campaign has focused on public safety, emphasizing staffing shortages at the Wichita Police Department and her “outsider” messaging.
“People aren’t used to seeing a different kind of candidate, a different kind of campaign,” she said. “They’re not used to seeing something this genuine in politics.”
Wu has also received backing from Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political action group that receives funding from the Koch family. The group has previously not participated in the Wichita mayor’s election.
More than 41,000 ballots were cast, a 15% turnout. That was an improvement over 2019, when the turnout was less than 10%.
Whipple’s campaign primarily ran on what he said is the progress the city has made during his tenure, including decriminalizing marijuana and fentanyl test strips, helping Wichita firefighters get raises and passing a nondiscrimination ordinance. Whipple also had to lead the City Council through the COVID-19 pandemic just months after his tenure began in 2020.
Whipple also finished second during the 2019 primary but went on to win the general election, beating incumbent Jeff Longwell.
The general election is Nov. 7. Races for Wichita City Council District 2, 4 and 5 are also on the ballot, along with school board races.
