Trump pushes for Missouri redistricting to boost GOP majority in House
Erika McGuire
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
President Donald Trump has requested Missouri to redraw its congressional district lines in an effort to shift the current partisan balance from 6-2 to 7-1, giving Republicans an even greater advantage in the state’s delegation.
The media outlet Punchbowl News first reported the White House was interested Missouri lawmakers considering a redraw of congressional maps. This comes after Texas Republicans floated redistricting its state last week, according to a report from the Associated Press, again at Trump’s request.
In the U.S. House right now, Republicans hold a slim majority, controlling 219 seats to Democrats’ 213, with a few vacancies. Trump’s team is pushing Missouri Republicans to target the Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in an effort to flip it into a Republican seat. It’s a move to ensure the GOP keeps the majority in the 2026 midterms.
“Republicans have a two or three person majority and it makes it really hard to pass anything,” Charles Zug , a political science professor with the University of Missouri, said.
Typically, redistricting happens once a decade, and Missouri last redrew its lines in 2022 based on 2020 Census data. Zug says a new round of redistricting could be significant.
“The National Republican party can redeploy campaign funding to other districts, having a Republican or Democratic member totally changes interest, groups, voters people residing in that area,” Zug said.
According to Zug, Republicans will likely use common redistricting strategies known as “packing and cracking.”
“Pack’ the party you don’t want to be on power you can pack them into a really small space,” Zug said. “Cracking’ means you take an area where they’re living and divide it into lots of smaller districts, so they don’t have a majority in any single district,”
However, Zug said pushing to redraw the maps carries risks for Republicans.
“Competitive for Republicans, assuming it doesn’t end up — and this would be the qualifier assuming — it doesn’t end up making another district in Missouri which is currently safe for Republicans less safe. that would be the question,” Zug said.
In an email to ABC 17 News Monday afternoon, Cleaver said in a statement: “While I believe that efforts to redistrict Missouri without the benefit of the data from the 2030 census are unconstitutional and will fail, the discussions to do so will likely further intensify and widen existing cleavages between the two parties. Any attempt to implement a mid-decade gerrymander that silences the legitimate voices of communities across Western Missouri will be met with a strong legal challenge.”
In a a video posted to X on Saturday, Rep. Bob Onder (R-Augusta) said he had spokes with Trump about possible redistricting.
“Every statewide-elected official is Republican. We have Republican supermajorities in the House and in the Senate, and yet for some reason unknown to me we are sending two progressive Democrats to Washington, D.C.,” Onder said. “That could make the difference between control of the U.S. by Hakeem Jeffries and continuous Trump impeachment hearings for the last two years of the Trump presidency, or continuing the America First agenda. I don’t know about you, but I vote for a 7-1 map.”
For maps to be redrawn three years after its last round, Gov. Mike Kehoe would have to call for a special session.
In an email to ABC 17 News Monday morning, Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office issued a statement saying,“Gov. Kehoe and his team are aware of the redistricting efforts in Texas, and discussions are always being held to ensure that conservative Missouri values are represented in Washington. Gov. Kehoe will always consider options that provide congressional districts that best represent Missourians.”
“If the Governor makes the call we’ll start conversations with senate members. Until then this is all conjecture and I have nothing to consider or comment on,” Missouri Senate President Pro-Tem Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina) said.
State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Jefferson County) supported the idea in an email on Monday morning.
“We should have written a 7-1 map in 2022. Our failure to do so almost cost the GOP the majority in congress. I’m up for it!” she wrote.
The Missouri Freedom Caucus also supported redistricting on its social media on Friday.
“The most current Congressional map that was passed was a weak compromise- inconsistent with the political will of Missouri voters,” a statement in the post says. “It’s time this super-majority Republican Party in Missouri grows a spine and actually delivers the Congressional map that reflects the stronger conservative values of this great state, as the political makeup of this state clearly demands.”