KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
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Groups opposed to the new congressional districts in Missouri will plead their cases to the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Beginning at 9 a.m., the court will hear arguments in three cases challenging the new maps lawmakers approved in 2025.
It’s rare for states to redraw congressional districts in the middle of the decade — it usually takes place once new Census data becomes available at the beginning of each decade.
Opponents like the National Redistricting Foundation argue the new map is from the Trump administration and is designed so Republicans control seven of Missouri’s eight districts, instead of the six-to-eight breakdown that exists now.
The new map would make it harder for Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) to win reelection; it puts thousands of Democrat-voting Kansas Citians in the 4th District and adds more Republican-leaning rural Missouri to the 5th District.
“I was shocked I was being moved out of one district into another,” said Steve Friesen, whose home went from the 5th District to the 4th District in the new map. “From one district where I thought my views were represented, to another district where it was watering down my views and representation.”
On the opposite side, Republican Mark Anthony Jones is pleased with the new map. His home is now in the 4th District held by Republican Mark Alford.
“I’m really glad to be represented in Congress because I have not been since I lived here,” Jones said.
The case Jake Maggard, et al. v. State of Missouri, et al. debates which map is currently in effect.
Opponents gathered signatures they said should stop the new map from taking effect until voters across Missouri approve it.
The cases of Elizabeth Healey, et al v. State of Missouri, et al. and Terrence Wise, et al. v. State of Missouri, et al. challenge whether the new map meets requirements in the state constitution to keep congressional districts “compact.”
The Missouri Supreme Court will probably take weeks to issue a ruling in the cases.
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