KANSAS CITY – Jackson County voters voted overwhelmingly to remove County Executive Frank White Jr. from office, ending his nine years in power with a landslide recall election.
White, a Kansas City Royals legend who became county executive in 2016, struggled to gain even 20% of the vote.
With nearly all precincts reporting, the final tally showed an 85–15 split in favor of his removal.
Frank White issued this statement:
The margins were even more striking outside Kansas City, where White lost nearly three-quarters of the vote.
In Jackson County's suburbs and rural communities, nine out of 10 voters supported the recall.
Some precincts posted 95% "yes" votes, and in places like Fort Osage, Buckner, Oak Grove and Lone Jack, support for removal neared 98%.
Independence delivered the largest share of ballots outside Kansas City, with margins generally in the mid-80s to low-90s.
Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grain Valley and Grandview all voted strongly in favor of recall.
The recall followed months of organizing, with supporters gathering more than 43,000 verified signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
White's fall can be traced back to controversies that began during the 2019 property assessment processand intensified after the troubled 2023 assessments, when tens of thousands of property owners appealed their assessments.
A judge later ruled the county made mistakes, and the State Tax Commission ordered a partial rollback.
Small business owners also reported sharp increases in the most recent cycle in 2025.
Beyond assessments, White drew criticism from legislators for negotiations with the Chiefs and Royals regarding keeping both teams in Jackson County.
White first assumed the executive's office in 2016 on an interim basis before winning the election later that year.
