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This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 3 episode of “Deadline: White House.”
Donald Trump’s redistricting push has officially hit Missouri. On Wednesday, state legislators kicked off a special session to consider new electoral maps that would tip the scales for Republicans. The party already holds six out of the eight congressional seats in the state. Under the new plan, Republicans would likely bump that number up to seven.
This is just heartbreaking. I was honored to serve as a Democrat representing the great people of Missouri. Under this new map, Republicans would virtually erase the voices of almost half of the population. In 2024, 40% of Missourians backed Kamala Harris in the presidential election; Joe Biden saw similar numbers in 2020.
Despite those results, Republicans want to make Missouri a 7-1 state. That’s not fair to Missourians as a whole, and it’s especially unfair to Black and brown Missourians.
The new map would split the state’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Kansas City. The district is 20% Black and 11% Hispanic. It’s been represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver for two decades. He served as mayor of Kansas City before that. Cleaver has been a great congressman for his constituents. But the Republicans in Missouri don’t care.
They want to carve up the Kansas City area into three separate districts, drawing in rural Republican strongholds in the state. By doing so, they can ensure that the voices of Democratic voters in the Kansas City area are drowned out.
Kansas City is a crown jewel of our state. It’s the economic engine of Missouri. Along with St. Louis, it provides most of the economic output and most of the job creation, to say nothing of the sheer pride that Missourians have for institutions located in those two cities.
It’s terrible what Missouri Republicans are doing, but I don’t believe they’ll be able to do it quietly. There will be a backlash. Voters will pay attention to this. And I hope Democrats find good candidates to run against some of these people, who are so cocky that they think 40% of Missourians are not going to notice their representation being stripped away.