51ºÚÁÏ

With lawmakers meeting in a special session designed to capture one additional safe Republican seat in the narrowly divided U.S. House, a raucous group of more than 1,000 citizens backed by labor unions and Democrats chanted against the mid-decade redistricting process launched by Gov. Mike Kehoe with the backing of President Donald Trump.

They packed the legislative chambers and walked the halls, buttonholing lawmakers to urge them to leave the state’s congressional boundaries alone.

“I came to Jefferson City to join with other like-minded Missourians who are very concerned about the redistricting and the initiative petition changes. I don’t have a lot of hope we can stop it until people start voting differently,� said Susan Fair of Chillicothe.

Livingston County resident Julie Harper held a “Republicans Cheat� sign outside the Capitol where other protesters were gathering.

She said the Republican embrace of Trump is dangerous for democracy.

“Why are we ignoring the constitution for one man and his petty power grab?� Harper said.

Debate over the new map, which won approval in the GOP-controlled House Tuesday, moved to the Missouri Senate Wednesday where Democrats in the minority can do little but slow the pace.

Democrats did manage to shut down the Senate for the day at 4:45 p.m., but the chamber remains on track to begin committee hearings on two bills on Thursday, followed by a final vote Friday.

The proposal endorsed by Trump significantly alters U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-focused 5th District by splitting it into three districts and extending the 5th into mid-Missouri.

Redrawing the seat to favor a Republican candidate would allow the party to control seven of Missouri’s eight congressional districts, potentially helping Trump and the GOP keep control of the House in the final two years of his term.

In a social media post Tuesday about the efforts in Missouri, the president said, “I will be watching closely.�

Congressional districts typically are adjusted once per decade following a census, raising claims by Democrats and legal experts that the plan is unconstitutional. The last time the maps were redrawn was 2022, when lawmakers rejected a push for a 7-1 map and approved a 6-2 version.

Opponents say the redistricting gambit is designed to let politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives.

“The entire special session is an obscenity,� said Jefferson County resident Doug Halliburton, who made an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate last year. “The biggest threat to Missouri democracy is the Republican super-majority that controls the House and Senate. They have proven to us that they don’t care what the people want.�

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan, a former congressman who represented 51ºÚÁÏ, said Republicans are “terrifiedâ€� of facing voters in the 2026 midterm elections and losing their majority.

Senate President Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, has pledged to send the map and constitutional amendment changes to Kehoe with or without Democratic support by Friday.

She launched the special session by calling for a change in the chamber’s rules to streamline the Senate process in hopes of avoiding Democratic interruptions.

Democrats said the rule changes represented another attempt by Republicans to silence their votes and quickly launched into a filibuster over O’Laughlin’s attempt to change the rules.

Not all Republicans were on board with O’Laughlin’s move.

“I’m very concerned about what’s happening to this body,� said Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Independence.

Republicans also plan to deploy a parliamentary weapon to cut off Democratic debate in a chamber that prizes lengthy filibusters designed to force compromise.

“It’s crazy to think that there won’t be free and fair debate,� said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton. “It is not good for Missourians.�

Democrats, who hold 10 seats in the 34-member chamber, said they wanted to expand the special session to include a plan to reduce the state’s sales tax on groceries.

The tactic was designed to show Democrats are a party paying attention to what voters want.

“Maybe if Republicans started passing popular legislation they wouldn’t have to be so scared of facing voters in the fall. So, here is our offer — do something good for once, take the credit, claim victory, and stop trying to cheat to win,� said Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia.

If the redistricting measure does win final approval, opponents are considering taking it to a vote of the people via a statewide referendum in hopes it will be rejected.

On tap for Thursday is a committee hearing on the proposed map, as well as the plan to make it harder to pass citizen-led initiatives amending the state constitution.

The ballot proposal, which would be subject to approval by voters, would require a majority vote from each congressional district instead of a simple statewide majority. Republicans argue the process to alter the state Constitution is too easy after voters approved amendments legalizing marijuana, expanding Medicaid and restoring abortion rights.

In an address to protesters, Rev. Emily Bowen Marler of the Brentwood Christian Church said, “We gather in this space to let our elected leaders know that we see what they are doing and we understand the ways they are seeking to write us out of the process.�