Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe gave a thumbs up when he won the primary in Jefferson City, Mo., in 2024. The Missouri General Assembly is expected to redraw the state’s congressional map to make the Kansas City district Republican. File Photo by Bill Greenbatt/UPI | License Photo
Missouri will likely install a new redistricting map this week in an effort to secure Republican control over the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
The state has eight House seats, two of which — in Kansas City and St. Louis — are held by Democrats. The proposed map moves the Kansas City district into a largely rural district and would likely eliminate any chance for a Democrat to represent the city. The redistricting comes in a special session called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe.
“If we sanction this midcycle redraw, we will be joining the long and shameful line of the states that have used legal language to silence voters rather than to protect them,” said State Rep. Kem Smith, a Democrat from the St. Louis area, the New York Times reported.
The Kansas City district has been held by Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver for 20 years. Cleaver was the first Black mayor of the city and held that office for eight years before winning his House seat in 2005.
“This is a better map,” said State Rep. Dirk Deaton.
He argued that the state’s General Assembly had the right to redraw districts between censuses. He said the new map “comports with every legal standard and every constitutional requirement.”
Once the map is approved by the General Assembly, it must go through the state’s Senate, also heavily Republican controlled, and then to Kehoe.
“We just redistricted three years ago — three years ago,” said State Rep. Wick Thomas, a Democrat from Kansas City. “So are we just going to redraw the lines every year if we don’t like the results? Is that what we think of our republic? Of our state? Of the democratic institution?”
“This isn’t policymaking. This is cowardice,” said Democrat State Rep. Jo Doll, CNN reported. “Instead of listening to the people we represent, you are twisting the process to protect Trump’s grip on power and tip the scales in his favor.”
Missouri is another in a list of states that are redistricting this year at the behest of President Donald Trump. Texas was the first to redistrict five seats, and California responded by redistricting to add five Democratic seats. Ohio will redistrict this year, as required by its own state law.
Democratic governors in Illinois, Maryland and New York have suggested redrawing their maps. In Maryland, at least two Democratic legislators have ordered drafts of bills ahead of January’s legislative session that could target Republican Rep. Andy Harris.
“The effort that the Trump administration is making exposes how afraid they are of the American people,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, CNN reported.
