The Missouri Senate passed a new congressional map on Friday that will likely give Republicans an extra seat in the House of Representatives in next year’s elections. It’s the latest state to change its maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Missouri map change
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe pushed for the maps and is expected to sign them into law.
President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for gerrymandered maps, spoke to GOP state senators to push the maps forward.
“It is wonderful to see Republicans in the ‘Show Me State’ standing up to Save our Country, and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote Friday afternoon on Truth Social.
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The new maps will divide Democratic United States Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s seat in Kansas City to create a Republican district. It also redraws Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District to more heavily favor the GOP.
Opponents filed legal challenges to the new maps.
“Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,” Ming Cheung, senior staff attorney with the ALCU Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “No matter how the state spins it, Kansas City voters will have worse representation in Congress if this map is allowed to take effect.”
Gerrymandering battle
Missouri is now the second state to redraw its maps mid-decade. Usually, maps are redrawn after reapportionment triggered by the decennial U.S. Census.
Last month, Texas lawmakers redrew the state’s map in a highly publicized battle to get Republicans five more seats in Congress. Texas Democrats fled the state at one point to try to prevent a vote on the new maps.
Ohio and Indiana appear to be the next redistricting targets for Republicans.
Meanwhile, Democrats have mounted some pushback in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special election set for November with the goal of having voters approve a redraw of California’s maps to favor Democrats.
Trump said the Justice Department will sue California over those efforts.
Democrats in New York have also floated the idea of gerrymandering maps to help their party gain seats in the House, but it seems unlikely to materialize.
