JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri's Republican-led House on Tuesday approved a mid-decade plan backed by former President Donald Trump to redraw the state's U.S. House districts in a move that could give Republicans an additional seat in the closely divided chamber.
The measure, passed 90-65, would reshape a Democratic-held Kansas City district by stretching it eastward into Republican-leaning rural areas and reducing the number of Black and minority voters in the district, a change supporters say will better reflect Missouri's political makeup. The plan now goes to the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Republicans already hold six of Missouri's eight U.S. House seats. Under the proposed map, they could win seven of the state's seats in next year's elections, a shift that would bolster GOP prospects as Democrats need only a net gain of three seats to win control of the House. The proposal targets the district represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, first elected to the House in 2004 after serving as the city's first Black mayor.
"This is cheating," state Rep. Yolonda Fountain Henderson, a Democrat, said during debate, echoing complaints that the redistricting is an overtly partisan effort to dilute minority voting strength. House Minority Leader Ashley Aune of Kansas City called the map "hyperpartisan gerrymandering" done along racial lines and said the changes amount to "erasing Emanuel Cleaver from Congress essentially."
Cleaver said Republicans were creating an atmosphere of "intimidation" and "division" and pledged to challenge the new map in court. "It’s one of those moments that, frankly, I never thought I would experience," he told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Republican lawmakers defended the plan as a way to amplify conservative voices in Washington. "It’s a congressional map that will better represent Missouri in Washington, D.C.," sponsoring state Rep. Dirk Deaton said. Republican state Rep. Bryant Wolfin, one of a handful of GOP lawmakers who criticized the use of raw partisan power, said during debate, "Using our raw political power to tilt the playing field to our side, regardless of the party, is wrong."
The House also passed a separate measure that would, if approved by the Senate and state voters, raise the threshold for citizen-led constitutional amendments by requiring a majority vote in each congressional district rather than a simple statewide majority. The change would affect the initiative process that in recent years produced voter-approved amendments on abortion rights, marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion.
The votes followed a two-prong special session called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe. Kehoe thanked Republican lawmakers in a statement for "ensuring that the values of Missourians are represented clearly and effectively." Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, newly in office, said she does not believe the state constitution prohibits mid-decade redistricting.
Democrats staged protests during the special session, including a multi-day sit-in by three lawmakers who remained in the House chamber. Former Vice President Kamala Harris drew attention by having pizza and wings delivered to them in a show of support. The Missouri NAACP has filed suit seeking to invalidate the special session, arguing there was no extraordinary circumstance to justify it and that redistricting without new census data or a court order is prohibited under the state constitution.
If the revised map wins Senate approval, opponents say they expect a ballot initiative drive that could force a public referendum and delay or overturn the changes. Thirteen Republicans, including House Speaker Jon Patterson, joined Democrats in voting against the revised map; only a few spoke against it during two days of debate.
Missouri's move follows similar efforts in other states. Republican-led Texas has enacted its own mid-decade redistricting, and Democratic-led California is pursuing a counter-effort that still requires voter approval. Other states, including Republican-controlled Indiana and Florida and Democratic-led Maryland and New York, are considering adjustments as the national redistricting battle continues.
U.S. House districts were redrawn after the 2020 census to reflect population shifts. The current push to alter maps mid-decade is widely viewed as a partisan strategy known as gerrymandering, aimed at shaping electoral outcomes before the 2026 and 2028 federal election cycles.
Opponents and civil-rights groups have signaled they will use litigation and ballot measures to challenge the changes, setting the stage for protracted legal and political fights over the shape of Missouri's congressional delegation as both parties prepare for next year's elections.