Missouri Republicans consider joining Texas to redraw House maps

Joe Lovinger, Erik Wasson, Bloomberg News on Aug 4, 2025

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Missouri Republicans are mulling a redistricting plan similar to one taking shape in Texas that President Donald Trump has pushed to bolster the chances for the GOP to maintain control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe is considering a redistricting plan, said State Senator Cindy O’Laughlin, the Republican president pro tem. A Kehoe spokesperson said discussions on the matter are being held.

“Governor Kehoe will always consider options that provide congressional districts that best represent Missourians,” said the spokesperson, Gabby Picard.

“He wants to be sure Missouri’s representation matches Missouri’s Christian conservative majority,” O’Laughlin said. “If he calls a special session to address this, we will of course take it up.”

The deliberations come after a special session of the Republican-dominated Texas legislature considered a proposal backed by Trump to redraw the state’s congressional districts. The plan provoked outrage among Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives, who left the state to prevent Republicans from reaching a quorum needed to hold a vote on the redistricting.

“I am told from people on the other side of the aisle that this will go forward,” said U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat who could see his district redrawn to his disadvantage.

Cleaver said his lawyers are looking into whether White House officials have violated federal law in pressing state lawmakers to change the districts.

“These kind of political hijinks really turn off the public,” Cleaver said. “This is highly divisive.”

Still, a GOP congressional aide to a Missouri member said it’s unclear whether the Missouri legislature will go along with the effort, and that it will need a real push from Trump to overcome inertia among lawmakers.

California Democrats, meanwhile, are supporting a plan backed by Governor Gavin Newsom to redraw their state congressional boundaries if Texas approves its own map changes.