# Karla May

Karla May (born June 12, 1970) is an American politician. She is a member of the Missouri Senate from the 4th district, serving since 2018. She previously represented the 84th district in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018. She is member of the Democratic Party.
Prior to entering politics, May worked for AT&T, also serving as a shop steward of Local 6300 of the Communications Workers of America. She received her bachelor's degree from Saint Louis University in business administration, and a master's degree in education from Lindenwood University.
May challenged and defeated incumbent State Senator Jacob Hummel (4th district) in the 2018 Democratic primary.
May was a candidate for United States Senate and along with December L. Harmon and Mita Biswas was defeated on August 6, 2024 in the Democratic Primary by attorney Lucas Kunce.
In 2025, May was the only Democrat to vote against repealing a 2001 law prohibiting same-sex marriage in Missouri.

## Electoral history
### State representative

Missouri House of Representatives Primary Election, August 3, 2010, District 57 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 1,386 | 50.60% | |
| | Democratic | Hope Whitehead | 1,353 | 49.40% | |
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 2, 2010, District 57 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 7,385 | 100.00% | |
Missouri House of Representatives Primary Election, August 7, 2012, District 84 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| Democratic | Karla May | 2,470 | 44.11% | −6.49 |
| Democratic | Mike Owens | 1,842 | 32.90% | |
| Democratic | Hope Whitehead | 1,287 | 22.99% | −26.41 |
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2012, District 84 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 15,214 | 100.00% | |
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 4, 2014, District 84 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 6,499 | 100.00% | |
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 8, 2016, District 84 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 13,649 | 100.00% | |

### State Senate

Missouri Senate Primary Election, August 7, 2018, District 4 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 20,303 | 57.20% |
| | Democratic | Jacob Hummel (incumbent) | 15,189 | 42.80% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 35,492 | 100 |
Missouri Senate Election, November 6, 2018, District 4 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 56,883 | 77.07% | +6.34 |
| | Republican | Robert J. Crump | 16,927 | 22.93% | −6.34 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 73,810 | 100 |
Missouri Senate Election, November 8, 2022, District 4 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 51,419 | 74.17% | −2.90 |
| | Republican | Mary Teresa McLean | 17,906 | 25.83% | +2.90 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 69,325 | 100.00% |

### US Senate

United States Senator from Missouri, Primary Election, August 5, 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Lucas Kunce | 255,775 | 67.64 |
| | Democratic | Karla May | 87,908 | 23.25 |
| | Democratic | December L. Harmon | 26,804 | 7.09 |
| | Democratic | Mita Biswas | 7,647 | 2.02 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 378,134 | 100.00 |