Month: April 2025

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Despite feeling confident Tuesday morning, Blair Murphy fell short of ousting Columbia’s incumbent mayor despite a well-funded campaign.

Incumbent Mayor Barbara Buffaloe defeated Murphy by more than 3,000 votes. When all the votes were counted, Buffaloe garnered more than 14,000 votes to Murphy’s 10,663, despite Murphy’s campaign taking in more than a quarter-million dollars.

Murphy told supporters at D. Rowe’s restaurant that he would not run again.

Murph also told supporters that the outcome of this election will sting because of the confidence he had heading into the night. He attributed much of that confidence to the many endorsements he had received and the endless hard work of his campaign.

“I never really showed it because I knew I had to keep my foot on the gas the whole time and not act like we had it,” Murphy said. “But, I mean I got to be 100% honest. …I felt very, very positive about this and so again, you won’t see me in 3 years doing it.”

Murphy made his speech alongside his wife and daughter. His daughter told his supporters that they did not view the night as a loss because they did everything possible throughout campaigning to get the win.

Murphy started his Tuesday morning voting at Woodcrest Chapel in southwest Columbia alongside his wife Melissa. He planned to spend the final hours before the polls close at 7 p.m. visiting more than 30 city voting precincts, according to his campaign manager, Scott Charton.

“Murph is feeling confident with the team’s efforts, which are going strong until the polls close at 7 p.m.,” Charton said. “He’s also both humbled and inspired by the support he has received as a first-time candidate.”

Murphy is a Columbia native, member of the Crimestoppers board and owner of Johnson Paint and Decorating in south Columbia. He told ABC 17 News in a sit-down interview before the election, he felt his many years of living in the city made him qualified for the job.

Murphy ran a campaign with a heavy focus on public safety and preventing crime and said that would be his No. 1 priority. He told voters outside the Woodcrest Church on Tuesday that he planned to support the police department.

He told his supporters Tuesday night that he doesn’t think there was much more he and his campaign team could have done, and he doesn’t have many regrets.

“We worked every day, every day but Sunday and we took that for our families and for other things,” Murphy said. ” We couldn’t have done anymore I mean at all and I’ll forever be grateful for all the support from all you guys.”

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor after he allegedly threatened to pull a gun on a business owner following an argument involving a purse on Tuesday.

Christian Chenet, 28, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree harassment and fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held Wednesday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says that police were called to a business around 2:40 p.m. at 128 East High Street for a weapons offense. The victim in the case is the owner of the business, who claimed Chenet came to pick up a purse that was left by Chenet’s boss, the statement says.

The victim opened the purse to identify the owner and Chenet allegedly became angry, but the victim claimed he felt obligated to give the purse directly to the owner, the statement says. Chenet allegedly called the victim a racist and then threatened to grab a gun from his car, the statement says.

A witness also heard Chenet say something about grabbing a gun, court documents say. Chenet was arrested and police found a gun in his vehicle, the statement says. Chenet allegedly told police that he was pushed by the victim and claimed he mentioned shooting the victim while he was on the phone with dispatcher, the statement says.

Chenet defended his actions to police, court documents say. The victim and witness told police that no one pushed Chenet, court documents say.  

Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Races for city offices are non-partisan by law in Missouri.

But sometimes, it might be hard to tell.

In Columbia, one candidate in the just-decided mayoral race took in more than a quarter-million dollars of campaign funding, a total more often seen in races for state offices. Meanwhile, voters made it clear in interviews Tuesday and in social media commentary that local races aren’t free from being tainted by national partisan politics.

Charles Zug, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, said local candidates often give off subtle signals that tie them to one of the national political parties.

“The reason for that is that American politics has become nationalized much more in the last few decades in the sense that most people, so far as they pay attention to politics, they really look to national politics,” Zug said.

Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe won a second term in office Tuesday after defeating her closest challenger, businessman Blair Murphy.

Buffaloe received 14,703 votes compared to Murphy’s 10,663.

The Columbia mayoral race is a nonpartisan race, but the national political climate has helped shape smaller local elections.

Some Columbia voters on social media have associated Murphy with the MAGA movement and Buffaloe as a liberal Democrat, although the two did not tie themselves to a political party.

Buffaloe’s critics said she was soft on crime and allowing homelessness to run rampant. Murphy’s critics tied him to President Donald Trump’s political movement.

“B Murphy smelled of MAGA stink,” one wrote in a comment on the ABC 17 News Facebook page. “It was a no from me.”

Zug says ideas from national politics are often imported into local races, which then shape how a voter decides.

But Zug says it makes sense that a candidate like Murphy would run on the issue of crime.

“It makes sense if one of the candidates are running on a ‘law and order platform, we need to increase police spending or hire more police,’ that they have kinda of made that issue,” Zug said. “They are trying to repudiate for being ‘weak’ on crime. It makes sense they would try to fill the Republican spot there, although they legally can’t.”

Money played a significant role in Columbia’s municipal election with Murphy raising $250,000 in donations, leaving many to believe Murphy would win the election. But Zug said that is not always true.

“Money is often overestimated as a variable of winning. People assume the campaign with the most money is going to win,” Zug said.

Zug highlighted how many elections are held across the country every year in which the person with the most money typically wins. But, he said, there are plenty of outliers.

“We just saw in Columbia huge odds, over 3-to-1 money-wise, in Murphy’s favor. He lost by a huge margin, over 10%, which is a landslide technically,” Zug said.

He also referenced the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where Elon Musk donated millions of dollars to a Republican candidate who lost to a Democrat.

“Elon Musk made that the most expensive state court race of all time and he lost to the Democrat by a huge margin, so it doesn’t guarantee anything,” Zug said.

Zug said that although Murphy had big financial support, other dynamics likely played a role in the results.

“You have to look at the local police makeup of Columbia; enough people felt the crime issue was not the issue Murphy thought it was. Columbia is kinda a blue dot in a red state,” Zug said.

Buffaloe received just over $70,000 in donations, with True/False Film Festival founder David Wilson donating $1,000.

Tuesday’s municipal election had a 25% voter turnout compared to 16% voter turnout in last year’s — a year when there was no mayoral race. Zug said the increase in voter turnout is likely due to more people living in Columbia, along with the race being politicized.

“Murphy had this huge amount of money and advertised so much and Buffaloe then had to advertise in response and I suspect more people had their attention drawn to this race than they have in the past,” Zug said.

Buffaloe has just over $40,000 of campaign money left on hand. She says they have invoices to pay so there won’t be a lot leftover but what is left will be rolled into the next election.

Murphy’s campaign said its too early to know how much money is left on hand because some invoices are still out.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who is accused of spraying two strangers with a caustic liquid near the Bear Creek Trail parking lot last month will undergo a mental examination.

Maxon Castle, 22, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A mental examination was ordered on Monday and a case review is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26.

A mental exam was previously ordered for Castle in another case from Miller County where he is charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

According to court documents in previous reporting, two women were hit with a stream of liquid on March 12 that burned and caused red blotches and skin irritations. The burning started again after each woman tried to shower, court documents said. The liquid was described as “caustic,” by police.