The Missouri House provided final approval on Tuesday to a redrawn congressional map that takes aim at Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, sending the matter to the Senate in what's been a deeply contentious special session.
But Rep. Dirk Deaton's bill didn't receive support from House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee's Summit, a move noted by detractors of the unusual mid-decade redistricting effort.
Patterson told St. Louis Public Radio via text message: "I do think the map is attractive in many ways. It is more compact and contiguous in many respects. But as a Jackson countian, I couldn't support it being split in half."
The House voted 90 to 65 Tuesday to transform Cleaver's Kansas City-based district into a GOP-leaning seat by linking part of Missouri's largest city with a slew of rural counties.
It would also place the western part of Kansas City into Rep. Mark Alford's 4th District and all of Clay County in Rep. Sam Graves' 6th District. In the St. Louis region, St. Charles County would be completely in Rep. Bob Onder's 3rd District while Rep. Ann Wagner's 2nd District would take in parts of Jefferson County and all of Gasconade, Crawford and Washington counties.
"I believe it is without much controversy to point out that the new map is much more compact than the old one," said state Rep. Darrell Chappell, R-Rogersville.
President Donald Trump urged Republican states like Missouri to redraw their congressional lines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Since Gov. Mike Kehoe called the special session, some GOP state lawmakers made no secret that they wanted to join states like Texas to prevent Democrats from taking over the House.
"I think Republicans do a better job of governance at the local level, the state level and the federal level," said Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson. "I think this is a great opportunity to see the districts more adequately represented in our federal government. And I encourage the other side of the aisle to take advantage of this opportunity and use what the general public says: We are a conservative state."
Deaton contended that the new map is an improvement from the one passed in 2022 – primarily because it splits fewer counties and, in his opinion, is more compact. Others have said the new lines will create more competitive districts, since Onder and Alford's seat got more Democratic – and Cleaver could still conceivably win the redrawn 5th District in a bad national environment for Republicans.
"I thank Governor Kehoe for his leadership. I know it comes to great disdain, seemingly from the discussion we had yesterday for many on the other side of the aisle, but I appreciate the leadership of President Trump as well," said Deaton, R-McDonald County. "I appreciate all of those who've spoken out in favor going back to 2022, and throughout the years, of a congressional map that will better represent Missouri in Washington, D.C."
Unconstitutional?
House Democrats, though, have assailed the redistricting push as unconstitutional – contending that the Missouri Constitution only allows for congressional redistricting immediately after a census. They also questioned how Republicans can meet equal population requirements with census data that's five years old.
"I don't think it's right to call this a Missouri First map, because I think it's anything but," said Rep. Will Jobe, D-Independence, referring to the name Kehoe gave to the new map. "I think it puts Missouri last and draws the rest of the state into this race to the bottom of the political swamp."
Black Democrats, especially in the Kansas City area, lambasted Republicans for splitting up the 5th District – and diluting the political power of African Americans. While the 5th District is not a majority-minority district, the redrawn version of the seat gets significantly whiter – with a large portion of the city's Black community placed in Alford's district.
"This is not going to go the way I think you all imagine it will," said state Rep. Mark Sharp, D-Kansas City. "I haven't seen any rallies for this map, but I've seen plenty of rallies around this state and around this country that are trying to stop and prevent this kind of stuff."
"And if you don't think that my district and other districts in that southwest corridor [of Kansas City] aren't going to fight you're wrong," he added.
While Deaton pointed to data showing that the 1st Congressional District is still a minority-majority district based on 2020 Census numbers, St. Louis area lawmakers questioned if that designation is correct given that the population figures are old and Republicans added a number of largely white inner ring suburbs to Rep. Wesley Bell's seat.
State Rep. Jeff Hales, D-University City, said redrawing the 1st District was especially premature given how many African American residents were likely displaced because of the May 16 tornado.
"We do not have the full picture yet of what the 1st Congressional District looks like," Hales said. "I think it is totally inappropriate even to tinker with its boundaries until we can get through this process and find out how many people have been displaced, how many people are coming back, and how many are not."
Democrats were especially harsh toward their GOP colleagues for heeding Trump's demands to redraw congressional lines so that Republicans don't lose the House next year. They argued that move showcased a lack of political courage and a willingness to prevent a Democratic House from holding Trump's administration accountable through investigations.
"The last time I checked, Republicans claimed to be the party of small government and local control. Yet here you are taking marching orders from the federal government," said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City. "Republicans claim to be the party of patriotism and individualism, but you are blindly doing the bidding of a wannabe dictator who needs to cheat to win. Republicans are the party of Don't tread on me, but my God, here you are getting treaded all over by your federal overlords."
Patterson no vote raises eyebrows
While the outcome of the House vote was never in doubt, a number of Republicans did end up voting against Deaton's bill on final passage.
Elsa Rainey, the spokeswoman for the group People NOT Politicians that opposes the redistricting proposal, said Patterson's opposition sends "a loud and unmistakable message to the Senate [that] politicians should not be choosing their voters. Voters must choose their representatives."
"Let's be clear — this isn't about serving Missourians. It's about clinging to power," Rainey. "And the people of Missouri see right through it."
This isn't the first time Patterson has departed from the rest of his caucus on a major issue. He also voted against a proposal debated earlier on Tuesday to make it harder to pass some constitutional amendments. And he also opposed a plan the legislature placed on the 2026 ballot earlier in the year that would repeal much of a 2024 abortion rights initiative.
Not everyone reacted positively to Patterson's opposition to Deaton's bill. Fran Marion of the Missouri Workers Center said in a statement that Patterson didn't use the powerful office of the speaker to try and halt the mid-decade redistricting push.
"Make no mistake: Speaker Patterson has been actively facilitating an authoritarian power grab," Marion said.
Some Republicans were leery of going after Cleaver, because it would make Alford and Graves districts more competitive. Others, like state Rep. Bill Falkner, R-St. Joseph, didn't like the idea that lawmakers were engaging in redistricting in the middle of the decade.
While acknowledging that Democratic states like Illinois draw districts to their party's advantage, Rep. Bryant Wolfin, R-Ste. Genevieve, said he was voting against the map because two wrongs don't make a right.
"If we continue to behave like the other side of the aisle, then we should absolutely stop claiming to be a conservative voice in the government," Wolfin said. "Right is right, wrong is wrong, no matter who is doing it. And I think Missourians deserve better than playing these power games that we continue to do in this building."
Senate action expected next
Now that the legislation cleared the House, it heads to the Senate where, on the surface, it should face a rougher reception. That's because Democrats in the Senate can use the filibuster to prevent legislation they don't like from passing.
But Republicans could use a maneuver known as the previous question motion to end debate and force a vote on both the initiative petition proposal and Deaton's redistricting legislation. They used that parliamentary maneuver earlier this year on measures taking aim at voter-approved paid sick leave and abortion rights initiatives.
"The map and the initiative petition reform measures will strike a huge blow to progressives and their efforts to turn Missouri into California," said Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin, R-Shelbina, in a Facebook post. "We are not California. We are not progressives. This is why we have super majorities in our legislature. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth by the opposition but we will ignore the theatrics and do our job."
If Senate Republicans do force votes on the two measures, most likely on Friday, Democrats may gum up the works during the 2026 legislative session and may decline to help the GOP when they're divided on important matters like the budget.
Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, said last week that his GOP colleagues have a major decision to make about whether they want to blow the Senate up to protect Trump from a Democratic Congress.
"I feel very comfortable going in with our 10 Democrats in the Senate," Beck said. "We are going to fight and we're going to stand up for all the people of Missouri."
Even if the Senate sends the new map to Kehoe, redistricting opponents will have 90 days after the special session ends to collect roughly 106,000 signatures to place the measure up for a referendum. If they're successful, Deaton's bill can't go into effect unless voters approve it in a statewide election.
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