Missouri GOP

Two Democratic candidates recently launched their campaigns against Cleaver for his seat in Missouri’s 5th Congressional District. That race will only get more challenging as a battle looms for possible redistricting that would make the seat more conservative.

The governor said Missouri is "always trying to make sure that we have as much Republican representation" as possible in Congress. President Trump is pressuring the state to redraw district lines around Kansas City and force out Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

After Republican lawmakers rolled back sick leave benefits and targeted abortion rights, a bipartisan coalition called Respect Missouri Voters started pushing an initiative petition seeking to undermine the legislature’s ability to overturn voter-approved measures.

Missouri's Freedom Caucus is pressing Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session to redraw Cleaver's Kansas City-based district. Cleaver said that mid-decade redistricting would "tear up the country" by creating a "MAGA government."

Bond had a major impact on Missouri Republicans, winning back the governorship in 1972 and sowing the seeds for the GOP's current dominance.

With just days remaining in the 2025 legislative session, unfinished Republican priorities include overturning voter-approved initiatives on abortion rights and paid sick leave.

California U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff has placed a hold on Ed Martin’s nomination for U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., casting doubt on whether he’ll get confirmed. Schiff said that Martin "demolished the firewalls" between the White House and Justice Department.

A new lawsuit alleges World Wide Technology, founded by a long-time Missouri political donor, was given preferential treatment — and a state employee was demoted for raising concerns about the arrangement.

With lawmakers set to take next week off, they leave having already accomplished one major priority: placing the St. Louis Police Department under state control.

Martin's time in Missouri politics included unsuccessfully running twice for statewide and congressional office. In the national arena, Martin was known for representing rioters in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

One of the measures, Senate Bill 74, would bar cities and counties from imposing their own open carry firearm restrictions. Another includes a provision that someone who kills another person with a gun in self-defense would be presumed to be acting reasonably, removing the burden of proof.

Missouri lawmakers banned transgender student athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity, and restricted transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming health care like hormone treatments. But the current laws expire in August 2027.