Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) has called for a special session for the state Legislature to address redistricting, queuing it up to potentially be the next state to redraw its congressional district lines.
Kehoe announced his decision Friday in a release, saying the Legislature will convene Wednesday and unveil his map proposal. As expected, the proposal targets Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) in the state’s 5th Congressional District, adding more area from outside Kansas City to make it more conservative-leaning.
Cleaver slammed the proposal as unconstitutional and said it ignores the 40 percent of Missourians who voted for Democrats last year. He vowed to continue to fight even if the map is approved.
“I will not surrender the voices of the people who entrusted me to fight for them,” he said in a statement. “The people of the Fifth District and I will fight relentlessly to ensure Missouri never becomes an antidemocratic state, where politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives. In the courts and at the ballot box, we will demand that the rule of law is upheld, our voices are heard, and democracy prevails.”
Cleaver is one of two Democrats, along with Rep. Wesley Bell, who represent Missouri in the House. The remaining six are Republicans.
“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California, and Illinois,” Kehoe said. “Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that.”
The change may only net Republicans one additional seat in the Show Me State, but it could be critical to the House majority in 2026. Democrats are hoping to pick up as many as five additional seats in California if voters approve the ballot measure allowing state officials to redraw its congressional map ahead of the midterms.
That is to counterbalance Texas’s new map, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law earlier Friday, to pick up as many as five additional seats.
If Missouri and a few other Republican-leaning states also redraw their lines, the GOP could have the edge in the redistricting battle.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin condemned Kehoe’s call, saying the governor “caved” to President Trump’s wishes “at the expense of Missouri families and American democracy.”
“Make no mistake: This all started because Trump and Republicans passed a historically unpopular budget bill that wrecks the working class to reward billionaires,” Martin said. “Now, instead of facing the consequences of their votes, Republicans think they can just choose their voters — that’s not how this works.”
“As California has shown, Democrats are rising up to protect voters’ sacred rights, and we’re not pulling our punches,” he continued. “The DNC will stand with Democrats protecting the rights of all Americans as Donald Trump and spineless Republicans try to rig the game against the will of the people.”
Kehoe also called for the Legislature to take up legislation related to ballot measures in the special session to require a period for public comment before measures are certified for signatures to be gathered and that a measure receive majority support statewide and in each congressional district to be approved.
