JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missourians across the political spectrum are demanding fair and transparent maps ahead of a Missouri Special Session called by Gov. Kehoe. The Governor answered the dictate of President Trump to alter Congressional maps, increase Republican representation and disenfranchise voters ahead of the 2026 election. Missouri is the latest state, following Texas, to initiate partisan changes to maps.
Of Missouri’s eight congressional seats, just two are held by Democrats and just two by African Americans. The main target for Republican lawmakers is Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district; he holds the 5th District seat, which covers Kansas City’s urban area as well as eastern Jackson and parts of Cass County. Cleaver, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, first won his House seat in the 2004 election after having served as mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. The proposed new map could split Kansas City in thirds, and extend the 5th Congressional district to outstate and rural counties, who should also have the right to retain districts related to their communities.
A growing group of Missourians are speaking out against this power grab.
“No one was talking about this a month ago,” Michael Wolff, former Missouri Supreme Court judge and chief justice; professor and dean emeritus of Saint Louis University Law School. “Missouri’s state constitution is clear: The legislature is required to draw new congressional lines by law each decade when the census determines the number of districts and the state has received its new census data. There is no authority to pass a Congressional redistricting law midway through the decade or any other time.”
“The Missouri legislature rejected a 7-1 supergerrymander after the most recent census, and for good reason,” said Denise Lieberman, Director and General Counsel, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition. “Redrawing Congressional district lines mid-decade without any new census data violates our state constitution and takes away voters’ power to elect candidates of their choice, causing real harm to our communities. If cities like Lee’s Summit, Columbia and Kansas City are split into multiple congressional districts, they will lose their representation. The promise of ‘one-person, one vote’ is that districts reflect voters’ communities. All Missourians deserve for their voices to be heard. Missouri lawmakers should reject this effort to rig the district lines and split up local communities.”
“Splitting Kansas City’s Black population—a community with a rich shared heritage and common interests—into multiple districts dilutes their voice and weakens their representation,” said Rod Chapel, President of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP. “This proposal is about politicians choosing their voters, not voters choosing their representatives. It’s an attempt to rig the 2026 elections before a single vote is cast.”
“In rural Missouri, we already face enough challenges being heard in Jefferson City and Washington. When politicians slice up our communities just to win elections, it makes it even harder to get the resources and representation we need,” said Will Westmoreland, Executive Director, The Back Forty, a nonpartisan rural advocacy group. “We may live miles apart, but rural Missourians still believe in fair play—and we won’t stand by while our votes are carved up for political gain.
“Democrats, independents, and fair-minded Republicans will stand together to stop this unconstitutional power grab,” said Rory Rowland, former Missouri State Representative. “Groups from Missouri Workers Center to the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in a joint statement said they opposed any map that ‘would dismantle’ the 5th Congressional District.”
“In Missouri, we value our freedoms, like having an equal voice at the ballot box, demanding better pay, and caring for our families. That’s why Missourians voted overwhelmingly to pass paid sick days,” said Terrence Wise, low-wage worker and leader with Missouri Workers Center. “But Republican legislators worked fast to buck the will of the people. In another anti-democratic move, they are now trying to steal away our political representation to serve a billionaire-backed authoritarian agenda. We the people are rising up together to beat back this attack on working people and show our politicians what democracy looks like.”
People Not Politicians Missouri is a growing non-partisan coalition of organizations and voters across the political spectrum committed to opposing any mid-cycle redistricting of Missouri’s Congressional districts.
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