After Tuesday night’s primary election, two out of eight candidates for mayor will advance to the general elections in November. 

Current Mayor Brandon Whipple secured his spot with over 9,250 votes; Lily Wu with over 11,760. While all candidates in the race were officially labeled as non-partisan, Wu, formerly a Republican, identifies as a Libertarian. Whipple is a Democrat.

Just over 15% of registered Wichita voters cast their ballots, with 41,221 ballots cast out of 268,852 registered voters.

Whipple has served as mayor since 2020. The New Hampshire native previously served on the Kansas House of Representatives on District 96 for seven years. 

As mayor, Whipple focused on three main items: diversifying the economy, making Wichita “for the people,” and keeping Wichita safe. 

In his run for reelection, he plans to “improve community policing and public transportation, provide work opportunities for young people, and get homelessness in Wichita to a “functional zero.” 

Wu, a former journalist, has four main campaign points: public safety, strengthening the economy, restoring trust in city hall and bringing the community together.

Out of the eight candidates, Wu raised the most in campaign dollars with just over $207,000 since Jan. 1. Whipple raised the fourth highest amount of money with $34,700. 

According to the Wichita Beacon, most of Wu’s campaign money came from various local developers, bankers and CEOs, “including billionaire Phil Ruffin, Spirit Aerosystems CEO Tom Gentile, Stephen Clark, Steve Barrett, Johnny Stevens, Jon Rolph, Wink Hartman and Colby Sandlian.”

Wu spent $119,000 from the start of her campaign until July 20. Whipple spent $27,000 from Jan. 1 to July 20. 

Wu and Whipple will compete for mayor in the general elections on Nov. 7.

Reporting contributed by Jennifer Anima and Sarah Beauchamp