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.

Columbia mayor’s race, legally nonpartisan, reflects national politics, expert says