Missouri governor to sign political redistricting bill Sunday

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Governor Mike Kehoe will sign House Bill 1, Missouri’s new congressional redistricting plan, on Sunday, September 28. The law will reshape the state’s political landscape.

On August 29, Kehoe called lawmakers back to Jefferson City to approve updated congressional districts and make changes to the state’s initiative petition process. The legislature passed the Missouri First Map on September 12, splitting Kansas City’s 5th District into three Republican-leaning districts. The bill also included a proposed constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution 3, dubbed the “Protect Missouri Voters” amendment.

“Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that," states Governor Kehoe.

The redistricting has drawn significant opposition. Critics argue the new 5th District, which stretches nearly 200 miles from the Missouri-Kansas border to Hermann, dilutes Democratic influence in Kansas City. Opponents have mobilized with an initiative petition drive that has drawn thousands of volunteers statewide.

Kehoe has defended the plan as both legal and a “truer representation” of Missouri than the map approved three years ago. Still, the political and legal challenges ahead are expected to be centered in Kansas City and St. Louis, where Democrats argue the map undermines fair representation.