Six Republicans vying for Democratic incumbent Emanuel Cleaver’s seat in Congressional District 5
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Following a decision from a Cole County judge on Friday, the Missouri FIRST Map will be what voters are tied to in the November election, and with that decision, the new District 5 is taking center stage.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, six Republicans have filed to run against incumbent and long-standing congressman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) in the 2025 established district.
The Missouri FIRST Map guts the 5th District and splits the Democratic hotspot into three districts, diluting those votes. The 5th District is also stretched all the way from Kansas City to the northern half of Boone County and includes Osage and Maries Counties.
Political science professor at the University of Missouri Charles Zug said the new makeup of Cleaver’s district could make it harder for him to keep his seat.
“The reason all these Republicans have announced is because there’s blood in the water. It looks like there’s a good chance with this redsitrict that it will go to a Republican,” Zug said.
ABC 17 News spoke with 5th District Republican candidate Taylor Burks ahead of the candidate filing opening in February about how he is running his campaign through the uncertainty. Burks said he was focusing on the district in its 2025 rendition.
At the time, there wasn’t a clear answer as to which congressional map was in effect because of multiple lawsuits challenging the map, and a referendum that would put the 2025 map on the November ballot for voter approval.
ABC 17 News followed up with Burks on Sunday, and he reiterated his commitment to the Missouri FIRST Map.
“Based on my experience as an election official here in mid-Missouri, I was confident that these maps were going to hold all of the cases. All of the judgments that have come down in the last several weeks have reaffirmed what I said about five, six weeks ago when I first announced my run for Congress,” Burks said.
Burks served as the Boone County Clerk in 2017.
Democrat Jordan Herrera is a candidate for District 4, which also has some dramatic changes between the 2022 and 2025 maps.
For example, under the 2022 map, District 4 stretched from Cass County to the northern part of Boone County and covers Camden and Pulaski Counties. Under the 2025 map, District 4 covers the bottom portion of Jackson County, and doesn’t stretch east like the previous map, but goes down and over. The 2025 district still covers Camden and Pulaski Counties, but cuts out Boone and six other counties.
Herrera said he’s catering to both maps.
“So I had to make a calculated decision, and it was to run against Mark Alford,” Herrera said. “If you’re going to change my boundary lines, and if you’re going to tell me where I can have a voice, well then, damn it, I’m going to run and represent that district.”
Rep. Mark Alford (R-Raytown) is the incumbent, and he has filed for his seat again.
Herrera is holding strong for the referendum that would put the 2025 map on the November ballot for voter approval.
“What I would say with the decision we received on Friday with the maps is to not lose hope, to not lose faith in the referendum,” Herrera said.