Governor of Missouri Mike Kehoe has announced a special legislative session next week to debate a new map that would add a Republican seat and consider a constitutional amendment making it harder for voters to change the state constitution through ballot initiatives.
"This is about clarity for voters and ownership of our future, and I hope the legislature will work together to pass our Missouri First Map and critically needed IP reform," Kehoe said in a statement.
Missouri became the latest state to consider redrawing its congressional districts to give Republicans a greater advantage in the US House of Representatives.
The move comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a Republican-backed map that could create five new House seats. Former president Donald Trump praised Missouri’s action as part of his broader push for red states to bolster the party’s slim three-seat House majority.
"The Great State of Missouri is now IN," Trump posted on social media.
"I won it, all 3 times, in a landslide. We're going to win the Midterms in Missouri again, bigger and better than ever before!"
Missouri currently has eight congressional districts, with Republicans holding a 6-2 advantage.
The proposed plan would split Kansas City — now entirely within Democrat Emanuel Cleaver’s 5th District — into three districts where Republicans would gain an edge.
Missouri Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a Democrat, accused Trump of pushing gerrymandering to protect himself politically.
"If Democrats retake the House, they will release the Epstein Files, and this scares the hell out of President Trump," Beck said, alleging Trump ordered Missouri Republicans to approve a map "drawn in Washington, DC."
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Missouri’s legislature, making passage likely despite Democrats’ plans to use procedural maneuvers to slow the process.
Legal questions remain about whether redistricting now violates Missouri’s constitution, which requires new maps to be drawn once every decade following the census.
The last redistricting took place in 2022, meaning another is not due until 2032.
