KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan has continued to share the voice of voters in the new Congressional 4th District. If you have a story you'd like to share, reach out to him. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling on a pair of lawsuits challenging new Congressional district lines was a new win for the "Missouri First Maps."
Over the past year, KSHB 41 Cass County Reporter Ryan Gamboa has shared the voices of District 4 voters.
"It would be so tough because we would be so outnumbered," Debra Mawson, who lives in Archie, Missouri, told KSHB 41 back in September.
The "Missouri First Maps" primarily remain the same, but carve out a portion west of U.S. Highway 71, including parts of Kansas City and Grandview, cutting off portions of eastern Jackson County, Missouri.
The goal is to flip Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II's seat in the 5th Congressional District.
Cass County residents, who will continue to vote in the 4th District, expressed concerns to KSHB 41 about sharing a district with a portion of Kansas City.
Ernie Cecil, who lives in Harrisonville, was asked about the similarities between a rural Missourian and a voter in Kansas City's Waldo neighborhood.
"Unless they grew up on a farm, they can't. That’s a Democratic area, and this is a Republican area," Cecil said in September last year.
Cass County Republican leaders see it as a win for the party.
"Well, as a Republican, obviously, we stand behind that 100%. I believe, personally, I stand behind it. I'm excited that that happened, the courts saw that we needed to do this," Chairman of the Cass County Republican Party, Jeff Fletcher, said on Wednesday. "Mark Alford’s spot is very important in the 4th, and now we’ll have a district in 5."
Cass County sits in a historically Republican-represented district and is predominantly rural.
"As long as we have Mark (Alford), I hope we continue to have Mark (Alford). He’s obviously shown that he’s going to give to us and take care of us," Fletcher stated.
Incumbent Rep. Mark Alford, a Republican, is being challenged in the August primary by Heather Shelton and Scott Vincent Vera.
In the Democratic primary, seven candidates are vying for a chance to unseat Alford. Only one Libertarian candidate is running for a seat in Congress.
On Wednesday night, KSHB 41 attended a candidate forum for Democratic hopefuls at the monthly Grain Valley Democrats meeting at the Mid-Continent Public Library.
A packed meeting heard from six of the seven candidates hoping to win the August primary, including Jeanette Cass, Hartzell Gray, Jordan Herrera, Randy Miller, Ashleigh Rogers, and Wayne Russell.
Each candidate shared their opinions on the Missouri Legislature's mid-decade redistricting bid.
"I'm furious. We’re fighting to get our votes heard, our votes counted," Kristie Branstetter said, a 4th District voter. "If you look at how they divided this up, they’re taking away the black vote. It’s awful that they are doing that to them in the city. Totally carving Kansas City up into three districts and taking away the black vote."
Candidates and attendees pushed their goal to unseat the incumbent.
In a statement on X, Alford put out a statement showing his support for the Missouri Supreme Court's Tuesday ruling.
The Missouri First map STANDS… again.
— Mark Alford 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@markalfordkc) May 12, 2026
Despite efforts of out-of-state left wing dark money groups, hardworking Missourians will have representation in Congress that reflects our state’s overwhelmingly conservative values.
We applaud the Missouri Supreme Court for continuing to…
"The Missouri First map STANDS... again. Despite efforts of out-of-state left-wing dark money groups, hardworking Missourians will have representation in Congress that reflects our state's overwhelmingly conservative values," Alford wrote in a statement. "We applaud the Missouri Supreme Court for continuing to follow the facts and the law by rejecting the radical arguments of Democrat legal operatives."
Keeping Alford is what Fletcher says he wants for the community, as Alford has brought home federal funding for local programs in Cass County.
The greater challenge facing the Cass County Republican Party will be who replaces acting Missouri State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville.
Brattin is running for a seat in Missouri's 5th Congressional District, with hopes to win the August primary and a seat in Congress.
"I don’t know exactly who yet, but I am sure there will be a handful that come after Sen. Brattin’s position if he wins the 5th, but there will be some volleying for positions in that position or placement, I think we’ll be part of that," Fletcher said.
State legislators representing constituents in Missouri's 4th District heavily voted in favor of the "Missouri First" maps.
Republican State Rep. Sherri Gallick, from Belton, voted against redistricting.
KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to Rep. Gallick for comment on Wednesday and did not hear back.
While the goal would be to unseat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II in the 5th District, voters at Wednesday night's Grain Valley Democrats candidate forum believe there's a shot for their candidate under the new maps to win the Fourth under
"This will put a different demographic in play for the different districts, I think the republicans might think that they have an advantage when it might not be the case, with how the lines have been drawn around different population centers," 4th District voter Scotty McMasters said. "It’s getting that specific population split in the same way with Columbia and Camden County and so on. Those are the real population centers that are being focused on with this map, versus than I think the other centerpieces of this district."
As for Republican leaders in Cass County, Fletcher believes that the influence of urban voters should not impact the needs of rural America, stating conservative representation in the city will benefit the party.
"There’s always a division from rural to city; we have that even in District 4, it’s a big area," Fletcher added. "The conservative piece moving up in the Kansas City area is always a good thing."
There are still a few other lawsuits on the Missouri Supreme Court docket.
NAACP, et al. v. Kehoe will go before the Missouri Supreme Court on May 27. This case argues the governor didn’t have the power to call the "extraordinary session" in which the new redistricting map was adopted.
Additionally, People Not Politicians v. Hoskins will go before a judge in July. Though in a lower court, this case concerns the validity of the signatures people gathered to force a statewide vote on the map.
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