Topline
Missouri lawmakers passed a plan Friday that redraws the state’s congressional map to likely add a Republican seat to the House next year, following similar initiatives by Texas and California in an effort to secure political power ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
People gather at the Missouri statehouse in Jefferson City on Wednesday, Sept. 10. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
TNS
Key Facts
The Missouri Senate passed the measure 21-11, and it now goes to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is expected to sign it into law.
In redrawing the state’s congressional map, the district of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., will likely become Republican-leaning.
Cleaver’s district, which is part of Kansas City, will be shifted toward Republican-leaning rural areas, and reduce Black and minority votes, and will now include a dividing line along Troost Avenue, a street made famous during the segregation era for dividing white and Black neighborhoods.
Missouri’s plan makes it the second red state behind Texas to pass redistricting measures aimed at helping Republicans maintain their slim majority in the House.
Kehoe has referred to the redistricting as the “Missouri First Map,” saying the state’s “conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government.”
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Chief Critic
“Despite tens of thousands of Missourians taking the time to call their state lawmakers and travel to Jefferson City to voice their opposition, Republicans in the Missouri Legislature followed the marching orders dictated by power brokers in D.C. and took the unprecedented step of enacting mid-decade redistricting without an updated census,” Cleaver said in a statement.
Which Other States Will Enter The Redistricting Fight?
Republicans have shown interest in passing redistricting measures in Florida and Ohio, the latter of which has begun work on redrawing its congressional map. Blue states may counter, with New York and Maryland considering joining the redistricting battle.
Key Background
Thousands of protesters demonstrated against the redistricting proposal after the Missouri House approved it in a 90-65 vote, according to the Kansas City Star. Resistance against a similar redistricting proposal was stronger in Texas, where Democrats left the state for two weeks to disrupt the quorum needed to pass the Lone Star state’s redistricting measure, which is expected to add five GOP seats to the House. The Democrats returned in mid-August after Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said his state would nullify Texas’ redistricting with its own. Newsom approved the new maps passed by the legislature last month, but, California voters must approve the plans in a November vote.
Further Reading
Will Redistricting Fight Spread After Texas And California? These States Could Be Next (Forbes)
Newsom Sends Redistricting Proposal To California Voters To Counter GOP’s Texas Redistricting (Forbes)