Missouri Governor calls special session to redraw maps to give GOP one more seat before the midterms

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (CN) – Heeding President Trump’s request, Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has called a special session to update the state’s congressional districts and amend the state’s initiative petition process.

The session will begin on Wednesday, September 3.

“Today, I am calling on the General Assembly to take action on congressional redistricting and initiative petition reform to ensure our districts and Constitution truly put Missouri values first,” Kehoe said in a statement. “This is about clarity for voters and ownership of our future, and I hope the legislature will work together to pass our Missouri First Map and critically needed IP reform.”

The move is in response to Trump’s call on Republican states to redraw their maps to make it more advantageous for the midterm elections in an unprecedented push for power from the White House.

Missouri has eight U.S. House seats, with Democrats holding two. Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature plans to redraw the Kansas City–focused 5th District to give Republicans another seat and bolster Trump’s agenda.

Kehoe, a Republican elected last fall on a MAGA platform, touted the new map, dubbed the “Missouri First Map,” for splitting fewer counties and municipalities, preserving two congressional districts as drawn and keeping all current members of the state’s congressional delegation in their districts.

“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California, and Illinois,” Kehoe said in a statement. “Missouri’s conservative, common-sense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that.”

Similar efforts are underway throughout the country. Texas is trying to flip five more seats to Trump and Indiana, like Missouri, is trying to redraw an extra seat for Republican representation.

Democrat-controlled California is hoping to neutralize these gains by redrawing its map.

The special session also includes enacting legislation to amend the state’s initiative petition process.

The proposal would ban foreign nationals from contributing to committees associated with statewide ballot measures, create a criminal offense for submitting fraudulent signatures and require passage by both a statewide majority and a majority in each congressional district.

It would also provide an opportunity for public comment before certification of a ballot measure for signature gathering, and require the full text of each measure to be printed and available at all election sites and polling places.

“For far too long, Missouri’s Constitution has been the victim of out-of-state special interests who deceive voters to pass out-of-touch policies,” Kehoe said in a statement. “It’s time we give voters a chance to protect our Constitution.”

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