Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he may run to represent Missouri in the U.S. House if Republicans redraw the state’s congressional map.
Missouri lawmakers have already passed a new congressional map out of committee that targets Democrat Emanuel Cleaver’s 5th District U.S. House seat and carves the Kansas City metro into three different districts.
The state legislature, which has a Republican supermajority in both chambers, is expected to pass the changes. Missouri has eight U.S. House representatives — only two of them, in Kansas City and St. Louis, are Democrats. The new map is a grab at Cleaver’s seat and an effort to make the state’s representation even more Republican.
Splitting the Kansas City metro between the 4th, 5th, and 6th districts is likely to do just that. But some believe “cracking” Kansas City could also make the surrounding districts more competitive and risk losing Republican Reps. Mark Alford's and Sam Graves’ seats in the 4th and 6th districts, respectively.
Lucas has pushed back on Republicans’ redistricting plan since it was announced. Lucas would live in the new 4th District, represented by Alford, if the map passes.
On KCUR’s Up To Date, Lucas said Democrats will continue to fight the redistricting proposal. He said he would “absolutely be willing to” challenge Alford in an effort to flip the seat.
“It is not my life's dream to actually be in the U.S. House,” Lucas said on Up To Date. “I think being mayor is more fun. But on this one, no, we're not going to sit back. I expect us to battle for a 5-3 map. That would mean picking up Mark Alford’s seat, keeping Emanuel Cleaver’s seat, and, frankly, to field competitive candidates in the Northland seat that's currently held by Sam Graves.”
What comes next?
Lucas has not officially announced a campaign, and he said he would only consider running if Republicans go through with gerrymandering the state. But this isn’t the first time he’s hinted at running.
When Gov. Mike Kehoe first announced the special session aimed at redistricting, Lucas said in a statement that Kansas Citians would challenge the map in the legislature, courtroom and ballot box. That fight would also include “running candidates, including myself if necessary, to ensure we have well-known and well-funded challengers to this grave injustice and to ensure a voice for all Kansas Citians,” he said.
He then tweeted that he was “looking forward to a 5-3 map ahead unless they get some sense.”
They lost their damn minds if they don’t think we know how to knock doors in Belton, Grandview, Lee’s Summit, Midtown (!!), and Westport and win a race.
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) August 29, 2025
Not sleeping on the Northland or eastern seats either.
Looking forward to a 5-3 map ahead unless they get some sense.
Kansas City’s charter would allow Lucas to run for Congress while continuing to be mayor. He would only need to resign from his office if he won in the 4th District. Lucas is term-limited from running for mayor again and will end his term in 2027.
Lucas said he hears from people who want him to fight the redistricting. He said that includes legal action, legislation and even mounting a campaign. If the Republicans’ new map goes through, it would be harder for Democrats to win any of the three seats. But Lucas said he’s used to prevailing in tough races.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Lucas said the move to redistrict is "more driven solely by pressure from President Trump and Washington officials, not by any request from Missouri citizens." He said if the new map moves forward, he is "committed" to protecting Cleaver's seat and "creating competitive" 4th and 6th districts.
If the new map passes, Lucas said Democrats need candidates who already have strong name recognition in the area and can quickly mount a campaign against Alford and Graves. Lucas said that could be him or someone else, but also said “there aren’t a lot of people who would fit the bill” other than him.
“In modern American politics, if Donald Trump says it, Republicans say, ‘How high do we need to jump?’” Lucas said. “I relish a good opportunity to knock doors somewhere and walk around, and would welcome the opportunity to go back to Harrisonville and all types of spots.”
Defending Cleaver’s 5th District seat
Lucas said running alternate candidates in the 4th and 6th districts is not the first priority for combating redistricting. The first step would be for Democrats to convince some Republicans not to back the new map. If it were to pass, there will also be legal pushback. The NAACP has already sued Missouri Republicans over the redistricting effort.
In addition to trying to flip Alford’s and Graves’ seats, Lucas said the focus is on making sure Cleaver keeps his 5th District seat, which would include rural areas more than 250 miles away from Kansas City under the redrawn map.
Lucas said Democrats will “stand by Emanuel Cleaver” and work to make sure people turn out to vote in the new 5th District. He believes the redistricting effort will be so unpopular that voters will turn out to spite Republicans. That sentiment was echoed by Democratic state lawmakers ahead of the House debate over the map.
“Republicans are scared of Missouri voters, which is astonishing,” Lucas said. “They know when they're pushed on the issues they lose, and when they're pushed on actually real elections they lose. It is trying to push Missouri backwards. It's going to backfire.”
