Missouri’s political landscape was jolted on September 12, 2025, as the state Senate gave final approval to a redistricting plan that could tip the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Trump-backed proposal, which passed by a 21-11 vote after Republicans invoked a rare procedural move to bypass debate, now heads to Republican Governor Mike Kehoe, who has pledged to sign it into law promptly, according to the Associated Press and CBS News.
The new congressional map, at the heart of a fierce partisan struggle, is designed to break up the Kansas City-based Fifth District, currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. By splitting Kansas City among three districts and stretching Cleaver’s seat into rural, Republican-leaning areas, the plan could shift Missouri’s congressional delegation from six Republicans and two Democrats to seven Republicans and a single Democrat. It’s a move that, as CBS News notes, mirrors mid-decade redistricting efforts in Texas and California, both aiming to shore up their parties’ prospects before the 2026 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump wasted no time in celebrating the development. On his social media platform, he praised Missouri’s “much fairer, and much improved, Congressional map” and predicted it “will help send an additional MAGA Republican to Congress in the 2026 Midterm Elections.” The former president’s explicit support has been a lightning rod in the debate, with some Missouri lawmakers insisting they felt no direct pressure from Washington, even as the national stakes became clear.
Opponents, however, are not backing down. Elsa Rainey, spokesperson for People Not Politicians, announced a referendum petition that could force a statewide vote on the new map if more than 100,000 signatures are gathered within 90 days. “This fight is not over. Missouri voters — not politicians — will have the final say,” Rainey declared, as reported by the Associated Press.
Legal challenges are already mounting. Three lawsuits have been filed, including one by the NAACP, with a hearing scheduled for the week following the Senate vote. Plaintiffs argue that mid-decade redistricting isn’t permitted under the Missouri Constitution and that the new map dilutes the voting power of Black and minority residents by dividing historic communities. The plan draws a line through a street long known as a racial dividing line in Kansas City, reducing the number of Black and minority residents in Cleaver’s district. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Cleaver’s home neighborhood is about 60% Black or mixed race, while the rural area now included in his district has just 11 Black residents out of nearly 2,500 people.
Cleaver, Kansas City’s first Black mayor and a two-decade congressional veteran, has made his intentions clear. “Together, in the courts and in the streets, we will continue pushing to ensure the law is upheld, justice prevails, and this unconstitutional gerrymander is defeated,” he said in a statement on Friday. He also confirmed he still plans to run for reelection in 2026, regardless of how the lines are drawn.
Missouri’s redistricting drama is part of a broader national trend. In Texas, Republicans recently passed a map designed to net five more GOP seats, while Democrats in California countered with a plan to win five new seats for their party, pending voter approval. As CBS News emphasizes, each seat is critical: Democrats need to gain just three seats to reclaim the House and potentially block Trump’s agenda if he returns to the White House.
The Missouri debate has been heated from the start. Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck pledged to help gather signatures for the referendum, while Kansas City state Sen. Barbara Washington, a Democrat, lamented, “Carving up Kansas City and silencing our constituents is terrible. The new map erases the voice of my community.” Roger C. Williams Jr., a 79-year-old Kansas City resident and former principal, drew a historical parallel: “What Republicans are doing now in the state of Missouri is they’re taking me back to a time when I, or people that looked like me, would not have an opportunity, because they wouldn’t have a voice.”
Republican leaders have defended the plan as a reflection of Missouri’s conservative majority. Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin said after the vote, “Missouri voters have already chosen a conservative majority and now their representation in Congress will finally reflect it. This map is legal, constitutional, and respectful of every community. It strengthens Missouri’s conservative voice and ensures every Missourian is fairly represented in Washington.”
State Rep. Dirk Deaton, the Republican sponsor, noted that the new map splits fewer counties and municipalities than the current one. Committee chair Sen. Rusty Black argued that testimony in Jefferson City didn’t capture the full range of opinions across the state, saying, “I’ve had people talk to me on both sides of the issue, both for and against, in the area that I represent. So who shows up on any given time on any given issues ... is a representation but not always a true representation.”
University of Missouri professor Peverill Squire offered a note of caution, pointing out to CBS News that the redrawn maps are based on years-old census data and that legal challenges could upend the new districts. “There’s a lot of risk for the Republicans, and the only thing at the moment that they stand to gain is maybe one more House seat,” Squire observed.
The redistricting plan was passed in a special legislative session called by Governor Kehoe, who also pushed for a companion bill that would make it harder for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to reach the ballot. Under the new rules, future amendments would need to pass in each of Missouri’s congressional districts, rather than by a simple statewide majority—a move no other state has attempted. Critics argue this could allow a small percentage of voters to block measures supported by a statewide majority.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, sharply criticized the Missouri plan as “rigged,” calling it a “mid-decade gerrymandering scheme” designed “to try and rig the midterm elections in order to salvage the weak GOP House majority.” Democratic Sen. Brian Williams of University City added, “It’s a shame, and I’m embarrassed. I hope moving forward our Republican colleagues recognize that we have a duty to represent Missouri and not Donald Trump’s agenda.”
As the dust settles, both sides are gearing up for a protracted fight—in the courts, at the ballot box, and in the streets. With the 2026 midterms looming, and the House majority hanging by a thread, Missouri’s redistricting battle offers a stark preview of the high-stakes political chess game playing out nationwide.
For now, all eyes are on Governor Kehoe’s desk and the coming legal battles, as Missouri’s new map stands poised to reshape not just the state’s political future, but potentially the national one as well.
