Gov. Mike Kehoe (R-MO) signed his state’s new congressional map into law on Sunday, furthering the GOP agenda to maintain control of the House, but the measure is already facing multiple lawsuits.
Missouri joins Texas in approving the Trump-backed, mid-decade redistricting plan that allows Republicans to gain more seats in the House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Other Republican-led states, such as Florida and Indiana, are considering redrawing their congressional maps.
The newly redrawn map aims to unseat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), who has one of two seats safely held by Democrats in Missouri’s eight-member congressional delegation.
“I was proud to officially sign the Missouri First Map into law today ahead of the 2026 midterm election,” Kehoe said in a statement.
“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the congressional representation of states like New York, California, and Illinois. We believe this map best represents Missourians, and I appreciate the support and efforts of state legislators, our congressional delegation, and President Trump in getting this map to my desk,” he added.
The governor’s signature comes over two weeks after the bill passed Missouri’s legislature.
While marking a victory for Republicans, the newly signed legislation could be impeded if its legal challenges succeed.
The Missouri NAACP filed a lawsuit as Missouri’s special session began, challenging whether mid-decade redistricting is an “extraordinary occasion” that warrants the governor’s call for such a session.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri is leading a separate lawsuit, arguing the redistricting measure violates the state constitution by preventing Kansas City voters from electing their preferred congressional candidate. The new map shifts parts of Kansas City into more rural, Republican-dominated areas. Cleaver, who is at risk of losing his seat, represents part of Kansas City in Congress.
Two more lawsuits, the latest of which was filed on Sunday, challenge the constitutionality of mid-decade redistricting.
Meanwhile, Cleaver threatened to file his own lawsuit earlier this month if Missouri Republicans proceeded with their plan to shave off portions of his district.
If litigation fails, a petition effort led by People Not Politicians could succeed in preventing Missouri’s congressional map from being changed. The group must receive 110,000 signatures by December for the new map to be put on the ballot for a referendum vote. In that case, the map must be approved by voters statewide.
The Democratic National Committee announced it is contributing to the referendum effort against the new maps. There isn’t an exact dollar amount tied to the spending, but it told the Hill it would be the largest from a national party in redistricting disputes so far this cycle.
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“This fight is not over. Missouri voters — not politicians — will have the final say,” a spokesperson for People Not Politicians said.
California is pushing its own redistricting-related ballot measure, putting up the question of redrawing the state’s congressional map to benefit Democrats up for a special election vote this November.
