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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Republicans handed President Donald Trump a governmental triumph Friday, giving last legislative support to a redistricting program that could assistance Republicans triumph an further U.S. House spot successful adjacent year's elections.
The Senate ballot sends the redistricting program to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, who said helium volition motion it into instrumentality soon. But opponents instantly announced a referendum petition that, if successful, could unit a statewide ballot connected the caller map.
"This combat is not over. Missouri voters - not politicians - volition person the last say," said Elsa Rainey, a spokesperson for People Not Politicians, which is starring the referendum effort.
U.S. House districts were redrawn crossed the state aft the 2020 census to relationship for colonisation changes. But Missouri is the 3rd authorities to instrumentality up mid-decade redistricting this twelvemonth successful an emerging nationalist conflict for partisan vantage up of the midterm elections.
Republican lawmakers successful Texas passed a caller U.S. House representation past month aimed astatine helping their enactment triumph 5 further seats. Democratic lawmakers successful California countered with their ain redistricting plan aimed astatine winning 5 much seats, but it inactive needs elector approval. Other states besides are considering redistricting.
Each spot could beryllium critical, due to the fact that Democrats request to summation conscionable 3 seats to triumph power of the House, which would let them to obstruct Trump's docket and motorboat investigations into him. Trump is trying to stave disconnected a historical inclination successful which the president's enactment typically loses seats successful midterm elections.
On his societal media tract Friday, Trump touted Missouri's "much fairer, and overmuch improved, Congressional map" that helium said "will assistance nonstop an further MAGA Republican to Congress successful the 2026 Midterm Elections."
Missouri Republicans are targeting a Kansas City district
Republicans presently clasp six of Missouri's 8 U.S. House seats. The revised representation passed the Republican-led authorities House earlier this week arsenic the focal constituent of a peculiar league called by Kehoe that besides includes a connection making it harder for citizen-initiated law amendments to triumph elector approval. That proposal, which inactive needs elector ratification, would necessitate aboriginal initiated amendments to walk successful each of Missouri's legislature districts alternatively of by a elemental statewide majority. No different authorities has specified a standard.
The Republican-led Senate passed some measures Friday aft changing the chamber's rules, past shutting disconnected Democratic opponents. Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck said afterward that helium plans to assistance stitchery the much than 100,000 signatures needed successful 90 days to unit a referendum connected the redistricting plan.
Kehoe has promoted the reshaped districts arsenic a mode to amplify "Missouri's conservative, common-sense values" successful Washington, D.C.
Missouri's revised representation targets a spot held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by shaving disconnected portions of his Kansas City territory and stretching the remainder of it into Republican-heavy agrarian areas. The program reduces the fig of Black and number residents successful Cleaver's district, partially by creating a dividing enactment on a thoroughfare that has served arsenic a humanities segregation enactment betwixt Black and achromatic residents.
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Cleaver, who was Kansas City's archetypal Black mayor, has served successful Congress for implicit 20 years. He won reelection with implicit 60% of the ballot successful some 2024 and 2022 nether districts adopted by the authorities Legislature aft the 2020 census. He said helium plans to situation the caller representation successful tribunal and question reelection successful 2026, careless of the signifier of his district.
"Together, successful the courts and successful the streets, we volition proceed pushing to guarantee the instrumentality is upheld, justness prevails, and this unconstitutional gerrymander is defeated," Cleaver said successful a connection Friday.
Three lawsuits already person been brought, including 2 Friday connected behalf of voters who contend mid-decade redistricting isn't allowed nether the Missouri Constitution. A proceeding is scheduled for Monday connected different suit antecedently filed by the NAACP.
Kansas City residents rise concerns astir caller districts
Cleaver's revised Kansas City territory would agelong from adjacent the city's St. James United Methodist Church - which Cleaver erstwhile led - 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast to see different United Methodist religion successful agrarian Vienna. In the vicinity astir Cleaver's hometown church, wherever his lad is present pastor, astir 60% of residents are Black oregon a premix of Black and different race, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. By contrast, the country astir Vienna has conscionable 11 Black residents retired of astir 2,500 people.
Democratic authorities Sen. Barbara Washington of Kansas City, who described Cleaver arsenic her longtime pastor, said the caller representation "erases the dependable of my community."
"Carving up Kansas City and silencing our constituents is terrible," Washington said.
Kansas City nonmigratory Roger C. Williams Jr., a 79-year-old erstwhile middle-school principal, said the effort to reshape legislature districts reminds him of the favoritism helium witnessed against Black residents portion increasing up successful Arkansas.
"What Republicans are doing present successful the authorities of Missouri is they're taking maine backmost to a clip erstwhile I, oregon radical that looked similar me, would not person an opportunity, due to the fact that they wouldn't person a voice," helium said.
Republican lawmakers said small during Senate debate. But sponsoring authorities Rep. Dirk Deaton, a Republican, has said the caller representation splits less wide counties and municipalities into aggregate districts than the existent one.
Republican Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin said successful a connection aft the Senate ballot that the representation "strengthens Missouri's blimpish dependable and ensures each Missourian is reasonably represented successful Washington."
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Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth successful Kansas City, Missouri, and John Hanna successful Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
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