Calls to redraw Missouri congressional district picks up support from state leaders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - Missouri could be the next state to redraw its congressional maps, and momentum picks up on the request that came straight from the White House.

All eyes are on Texas as drama ensues over its congressional districts. Typically, states redraw their maps after each census, which is conducted every 10 years. The next census isn’t until 2030, but President Donald Trump is pressuring some Republican-led states to review their maps now, ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Missouri’s current map was drawn in 2022. It has six districts with a Republican lean and two with a Democratic lean. Two Democratic Congressmen represent St. Louis and Kansas City in the U.S. House.

The call to redraw Missouri’s map appears to target the Kansas City area, represented by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. Cleaver said he does not see this as a personal attack, but rather an attack on American values.

“People in certain parts of the state, the urban centers for one, should not be denied having people in the United States Congress who represent their views,” Rep. Cleaver said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe confirmed Tuesday he’s been in contact with the White House and the state’s congressional delegation about a possible redistricting. Gov. Kehoe did not provide any timeline for when a special session might happen.

“We want to keep the House in Republican control, so what we look at, what we’re going to do here in Missouri, we’ll work with our leadership group and see if there’s a path or something that makes sense for Missourians,” Kehoe said.

Senate leader Cindy O’Laughlin’s office tells Gray’s Missouri Capitol Bureau she’s waiting on marching orders from the governor to move on a special session.

“My priority is ensuring Missouri’s representation in Washington reflects the values of our conservative majority at home,” O’Laughlin’s statement reads. “As national Democrats continue to embrace extreme policies, we must remain vigilant and do what we can to keep socialists from gaining more control.”

Lt. Gov. David Wassinger wholeheartedly supports redrawing Missouri’s districts. He called Missouri’s current map a mistake, going on to say the state sends too many progressive Democrats to Washington, D.C.

“Missouri’s next Congressional map must protect Missouri values and ensure our representatives in Congress are as conservative as the voters who send them,” Wassinger said.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith said the state’s map is already too gerrymandered. State Rep. Smith represents Columbia, which is split down the middle in the state’s current map. The city typically leans Democratic, while the surrounding county tends to lean Republican.

“It was a pure gerrymander; it doesn’t make any sense,” Tyson Smith said. “We’re a cohesive community, we have cohesive values, there’s no reason in the world to divide up our city down the middle.”

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