When she first got wind that Missouri Republicans may be planning a special session to target Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, state Sen. Patty Lewis thought that her GOP colleagues would get cold feet.
Missouri Republicans soundly rejected what was known as a 7-1 map in 2022 – which would have split Kansas City enough to make it difficult for Cleaver to win reelection. They contended that it could backfire and create up to three congressional districts that Democrats could win instead of the current two.
"My initial reaction, based on what was reported, was that the majority party wasn't really interested in redrawing the maps," said Lewis, who represents a portion of Kansas City in the Missouri Senate.
But during an appearance Friday on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Lewis said the Republicans who dominate the legislature are preparing to abandon what they believed just a couple of years ago due to pressure from President Donald Trump. Trump is pushing Republican-led states like Missouri and Texas to redo their maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections to keep his party's slim majority in the U.S. House.
"Fast-forward with Trump's team calling leadership and this becoming more and more a reality," Lewis said. "It makes me outraged."
While Lewis plans to fight the effort to overhaul the 5th Congressional District, she acknowledged that Democrats don't have much leverage. If Gov. Mike Kehoe calls a special session on redistricting, Senate Republicans will likely use what's known as the previous question maneuver to shut off a filibuster.
Lewis warned that Missouri Republicans risk getting basically nothing done in 2026, especially since Democrats are still fuming over the use of the previous question to go after voter-approved paid sick leave requirements and abortion rights protections.
"Even though they have the super majority, there's a lot of issues that require the Democrats' votes, like the budget," Lewis said. "If they continue with their plan to gerrymander the maps, I have no desire to work with them."
Effects on other districts
Lewis said her GOP colleagues should still be concerned about dividing Kansas City in a way that makes the districts of Reps. Mark Alford and Sam Graves more competitive for Democrats. That could prompt national Democratic groups to pour millions of dollars into the Kansas City media market and turn out scores of voters who have stayed on the sidelines during elections.
"This could backfire, and it could end up getting more Democratic seats," Lewis said. "I think the bottom line is that there's no need for this, whether we end up winning and it backfires on them. Voters get to decide elections, not political parties."
The other potentially damaging consequence for Republicans could come about during next year's statewide election.
During an appearance on the Missouri Times' This Week in Missouri Politics Daily, state Sen. Stephen Webber said that Democratic groups could help fund a ballot initiative that would turn control of congressional redistricting over to a commission. And if that happens, that commission could draw a new map that ends up transforming Republican Congresswoman Ann Wagner's 2nd District into a much more Democratic seat.
The Democrat-dominated 1st District in St. Louis is not expected to be affected because as a majority-minority seat it's protected by the Voting Rights Act.
Other national Democratic groups are taking notice of what could happen in Missouri. In a statement, John Bisognano of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee said his group is "closely monitoring the developments in Missouri."
"It is alarming that after the level of public outrage and opposition on the ground against Trump's efforts to gerrymander Texas that the White House is pushing the same scheme in Missouri, it truly speaks to how deeply desperate they are to retain power regardless of public opposition," Bisogano said. "All options are on the table, and NDRC and Affiliates are looking at how we can use every tool at our disposal to sound the alarm to the American people and to fight back against the White House's attempt to silence Missourians."
State Sen. Nick Schroer, R-St. Charles County, said Webber's comments should be taken seriously – which is why he wants Kehoe to include in a special session a proposal to make the Missouri Constitution more difficult to amend.
"If Republicans aren't thinking of the long game here and thinking of protecting our Constitution, what Senator Webber said is more than likely going to happen," Schroer said.
Any proposal to make the constitution harder to amend would need voter approval, which isn't a sure thing given that similar proposals have failed in other states. And in Lewis' view, it would be a mistake for the legislature to consider any changes to the initiative petition process this fall.
"They just want to make it virtually impossible for the voters to speak," Lewis said. "They constantly overturn the will of the voter. We just saw this, this past session. We've seen it in the past."
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