Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II and Republican candidate Rick Brattin attended the Governor's Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday while the boundaries of the district they're running in are still tied up in court.
Both are awaiting an eventual decision from the Missouri Supreme Court about the fate of a proposed referendum on the new congressional district map Missouri lawmakers passed in 2025.
The map was drawn in part of a national effort from Republicans to add more Republican-leaning congressional seats in states including Missouri, Texas and Florida.
Missouri's new map aims to draw Cleaver out of his 5th District seat in part by dividing the Kansas City area into three districts.
Cleaver said there's a reason why redistricting happens right after the census, not halfway into the decade.
"This is not an intelligent decision. I mean, it wasn't based on anything factual. It was a phone call from Washington: 'We want Cleaver out, and we want our person in,' and that's it," Cleaver said.
The new 5th Congressional District stretches from the Kansas City area to as far east as Jefferson City. It also includes the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia.
Cleaver said he's going to campaign in this new district the same way he's done it throughout his career.
"I think you know someone may have miscalculated to assume that, No. 1, that I couldn't represent a rural area, and then, No. 2, that somehow people were going to think this was OK, and they don't," Cleaver said.
Brattin, currently a state senator from Harrisonville, said he believes he can well represent both the rural and urban parts of the district.
"Everybody wants safe streets. They want great quality education. They want to be able to achieve the American dream, and that's what I will be able to represent and provide. I don't think that they've received that," Brattin said.
However, the 2025 map isn't necessarily the map that will be used in the November election.
An effort to suspend the map until it gets either approved or rejected by a vote of the people through a referendum is set to be heard by the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 2.
On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green upheld Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' decision to reject the proposed referendum.
However, if the Supreme Court overrules Hoskins' decision, the new map could be suspended until the referendum on it occurs. In May, the court ruled that if the redistricting referendum qualifies for the ballot, the 2025 map will have been suspended as of December 2025.
Brattin said he will continue running no matter what the district looks like, but believes the new map will stand.
"The constitution gave the sole authority to the legislature. So, you know, I don't see it happening, so I'm planning for what we currently have," Brattin said.
At the ham breakfast, Hoskins said he felt vindicated not just by Green's ruling on the referendum, but also on another ruling upholding Hoskins' rejection of a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder for lawmakers to overturn ballot measures approved by the public.
"I'm just following state law. If you've got a problem with any of that, then you need to contact your state representative or your state senator. They're the ones that can actually file bills and make laws," Hoskins said.
U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said he plans to do whatever he can to help Brattin.
"The mapmaking process is inherently political, and people who try to tell you that it's not, they're not being completely honest, and it cuts both ways," Schmitt said at the breakfast.
What's next after the failures of Amendments 4 and 5?
The Governor's Ham Breakfast came a little more than two weeks after Missourians overwhelmingly rejected Amendments 4 and 5.
Amendment 4 would have made it harder to amend the Missouri constitution through the citizen ballot initiative process. Amendment 5 would have given Missouri lawmakers the ability to expand sales and use taxes in order to eliminate the state income tax.
Gov. Mike Kehoe said Thursday he intends to keep working on both issues, even though they were defeated by around 80% at the ballot box.
Kehoe said that Amendment 5 was "not the plan that Missourians wanted" and that there are other options they can look at regarding the income tax as well as other taxes.
"Obviously one of the big conversations you hear from people all around the state is the property tax issues that we've had, and some crazy swings in some of those property tax assessments. So that's the other tax I would say is on people's mind," Kehoe said.
He also said he's heard from people who were in support of Amendment 5.
"We've talked to a lot of Missourians afterwards, many at the state fair who said, 'Don't give up. Keep going. Keep trying.' If you ask the average Missourian, 'Do you want to keep more of your money?' Their answer is going to be yes," Kehoe said.
Speaking right after the Aug. 4 election, Rep. Alex Riley, R-Springfield, who is expected to be the next speaker of the House, said the goal is to still cut taxes.
However, Riley also mentioned reducing other taxes, like personal property taxes, as a possible higher priority.
State Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, said while reducing personal property and property taxes are worth considering, they are also complicated issues.
"My concern is how do we keep the schools funded? How do I keep my rural road districts funded? My rural fire districts, you name it. How do we do that?" Gregory said.
Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee's Summit, said she doesn't know if the legislature will try again to eliminate the state income tax.
"I guess we'll see what happens, but I wouldn't recommend it," Ingle said.
Regarding Amendment 4, Kehoe repeated his commitment to not dropping the issue.
"Obviously, that particular plan was not accepted by voters, but I'm sure that conversation hasn't gone away," Kehoe said.
Gregory said he heard several complaints from people about Amendment 4.
"The concerns I heard was 'It's just too restrictive, and why doesn't it apply to the legislature?' Also, those were some of the same concerns I had had, but this was a clear path to finally get something on the ballot," Gregory said.
As far as revisiting the topic, Gregory said there are many ways to look at it.
"Maybe we just need to be a simple majority of congressional districts with a concurrent majority type deal, where you still got a 50 plus one, and then five of eight congressional districts, and it applies to all different methods," Gregory said.
Ingle also doesn't expect Republicans to give up on the issue.
"Ever since I've been in the legislature, and for years before that, the supermajority has tried to undermine the initiative petition process. I have no doubt that they will continue to do so going forward," Ingle said.
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