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Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday called Missouri lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts, thrusting the state into a growing national battle over partisan gerrymandering ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Kehoe’s announcement came just hours after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican, signed into law a new congressional map designed to give his party five more seats. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has countered with his own Democratic map aimed at boosting his party’s edge, setting the stage for an intensifying redistricting showdown across multiple states.
Background: Mid-decade redistricting
Missouri would become the third state to attempt a mid-decade remap for partisan advantage, an unusual step outside of the normal once-a-decade redistricting process. Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats, while Democrats control two — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district and Rep. Wesley Bell’s district in St. Louis.
Kehoe scheduled the special session to begin Sept. 3 and released a proposed map that stretches Cleaver’s district eastward into rural, Republican-leaning areas, making it more competitive for the GOP.
The governor also placed another Republican priority on the agenda: a constitutional amendment that would raise the bar for citizen-led ballot initiatives, which have been used in recent years to legalize marijuana and secure abortion rights in Missouri.
“Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government,” Kehoe said in a statement.
Democratic pushback
Democrats condemned the governor’s plan, likening it to an attack on democracy.
State House Minority Leader Ashley Aune called Kehoe a “Trump puppet” attempting to “steal a congressional seat for Republicans” and “gut the ballot initiative process.” She warned the effort “marks the worst threat to the integrity of our state government since pro-slavery lawmakers voted for Missouri to join the Confederacy in 1861.”
Cleaver, who has represented Kansas City since 2005, called the proposal “an attack on democracy perpetrated by Trump” and vowed not to concede his seat. “This attempt to gerrymander Missouri will not simply change district lines, it will silence voices,” he said.
GOP strategy and Trump’s role
The effort is part of a broader Republican strategy encouraged by President Donald Trump, who has urged red states to shore up House districts to prevent Democrats from flipping control in 2026. Republicans currently hold a narrow 220-215 majority.
Historically, the president’s party tends to lose seats in midterm elections. Trump saw that in 2018, when Democrats gained control of the House and launched investigations into his administration. Republicans are now seeking to avoid a repeat in his second term.
Abbott hailed Texas’s new map in a celebratory post on X, declaring, “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.” Newsom quickly fired back, calling Abbott Trump’s “#1 lapdog.”
Broader national fight
Missouri joins Texas, California, and several other states — including Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland and New York — in considering new congressional maps before the next census.
Voting rights groups already have sued in Texas, alleging that Abbott’s plan dilutes the political power of Black voters. In Utah, a judge recently ordered lawmakers to redraw maps after ruling Republicans had undermined an independent redistricting commission established by voters.
Some Missouri Republicans previously floated an aggressive 7-1 GOP map after the 2020 census but backed down amid concerns about legal challenges and the risk of overextending in swing areas.
This time, Republicans hold clear legislative advantages, and Democrats have few tools to block the new map. GOP leaders have signaled they are prepared to use procedural tactics to overcome filibusters if necessary.
What’s next
Missouri’s special session will open Sept. 3, and lawmakers are expected to move quickly on redistricting. Court challenges are likely to follow, echoing fights already underway in Texas and elsewhere.
With both parties maneuvering for even small shifts in the congressional balance, the outcome in Missouri could be one of several that determines control of the U.S. House in 2026.
