The Republican‑controlled Missouri legislature redrew the state’s congressional map last year, a move encouraged by President Donald Trump, to give the GOP a better chance of adding a seat in the House. Republicans now hold six of Missouri’s eight seats. The new map, approved for the 2024 election cycle, was challenged in court and ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A Supreme Court order on Thursday restored the 2022–2024 map for the November general election. The change returned Leslie Moody’s neighborhood, which had briefly been placed in the Republican‑dominated 4th District, to the compact 5th District centered on Kansas City, one of only two districts represented by Democrats. Moody, a 70‑year‑old retired chemist, described the situation as “completely ridiculous” and expressed frustration.
The Trump‑backed map had left only two of the eight districts unchanged, with the 5th district altered so that only about forty percent of its former voters remained in the new configuration. It also added residents of Jefferson City, 130 miles east of Kansas City, to the district. Republican activist Carolyn McDowell, whose home was temporarily moved from Bob Onder’s district to that of Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, said the mid‑cycle gerrymandering was confusing for voters and candidates alike.
Other voters echoed the confusion. League of Women Voters president Kay Park noted that few people called in, but those who did felt the redrawn map did not represent them as well. Progressive independent Ashley Sadowski said it was “astounding” that voters turned out to vote on a map that was not legal. Democrat Leslie French, who has long campaigned against gerrymandering, praised the Supreme Court’s decision to restore the earlier map, calling the reversal a relief.
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