Gov. Mike Parson signs congressional map into effect, finalizing districts for elections

JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson signed Missouri's new congressional map Wednesday, officially putting the new district lines into effect in time for this fall's elections and ending a months-long conflict within the legislature.

The map will likely retain the state's current partisan alignment, with six Republican-favored districts and two Democratic-favored districts.

"Needless to say, this has been a long, drawn-out process on redistricting here in our state this year," Parson said at a signing ceremony Wednesday afternoon. "But the good news is it finally got across the finish line, we were able to do a '6-2' map this year and get that done."

Lawmakers gave final approval to the map on the second-to-last day of the legislative session after months of infighting and political jockeying. Missouri is one of the last states to finalize new districts based on updated census data.

Redistricting in Missouri: Legislature passes new congressional map, ending monthslong stalemate

"I think at the end, we're with a map that we're happy we got done and that we didn't concede to the courts," said Rep. Dan Shaul, a Republican from Imperial who led the mapmaking process in the House.

Signage of the map will likely lead to the dismissal of lawsuits filed in both state and federal courts prior to lawmakers finding a compromise.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt's office on Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri to dismiss a case filed by 2nd district candidate Paul Berry III against the old congressional map, citing Parson's plan to sign the map.

"All three complaints allege that it would be unconstitutional to use the congressional map enacted in 2011 for any future elections ... and when the governor signs the bill as expected tomorrow, those complaints will be challenging a map that is no longer in effect," Schmitt's office wrote in the request for dismissal.

Attorneys in two cases filed by Democrats and Republicans in the Cole County Circuit Court met Wednesday to merge the two into one case, but it too will likely become moot following Parson's signature, Judge Jon Beetem said.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which had backed one of the state lawsuits, called the passage of the map "a win for all Missourians who have been fighting against gerrymandering in the Show-Me State."

Local election officials will now move to begin transferring voters' registration to new districts with a tight deadline of May 24 before they start producing ballots for the August primary.

Parson told reporters Wednesday he didn't believe calling a special session to pass a map last fall "would have made any difference whatsoever."

"You've seen what's happened over the last five or six months," he said. "Call the special session, it doesn't take the people involved away differently, so no, I don't think a special session would have worked at all."

Redistricting in Missouri: Lawmakers at odds in how to split southwest MO in congressional map

What changes under Missouri's new redistricting map? 

Under the map, the 1st district in St. Louis City and 5th district in Kansas City, held by U.S. Reps. Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver respectively, remain Democratic strongholds. The 2nd district in suburban St. Louis will likely see a slight improvement for Republicans, as U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner seeks another term in the increasingly competitive seat.

The 3rd district in the west, 6th in the north and 8th in the southeast, held by U.S. Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Sam Graves and Jason Smith respectively, remain solidly Republican. The 4th and 7th districts in mid-Missouri and the southwest are vacant and have competitive Republican primary fields.

One candidate, Republican Rep. Sara Walsh of Ashland, has dropped out of the race for the 4th congressional district in mid-Missouri. Kalena Bruce, another Republican candidate aiming to succeed U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, on Wednesday called for "all opponents not living in the 4th congressional district" to drop out of the race.

"As voters evaluate candidates, I believe it's important to look at those who truly reside and have a first-hand connection to the issues and challenges of the individuals and families they will represent in Congress," Bruce said in a statement.

More: Here are the major bills passed by the Missouri legislature during its 2022 session

Parson weighs in on possible court challenges, '7-1' map

Parson said that "all along we believed it'd be a '6-2' map," citing the partisan geographics of the state, and that he believed it could uphold a court challenge if one were to occur.

"But I don't think the courts are going to be too anxious to get involved either in these, because it'll happen again once a decade," he said.

Some Republicans, both in the legislature and running for federal office in Missouri, had pushed to draw a more aggressive '7-1' map that would cut out the blue 5th district for another GOP representative. But the governor, a Republican who cannot run for office again, brushed those concerns aside.

"It's not always what you prefer in this business," Parson said. "It's what you can get done and what's fair to the people of Missouri.

"I think a '6-2' map is fair to the people of Missouri and that's the way it ended up. I think the majority of legislators feel that way and that's the way democracy works."

A number of counties remain split between multiple districts under the new map. Boone County in mid-Missouri is split through downtown Columbia between the 3rd and 4th; Webster County in the southwest is split approximately in half between the 4th and 7th districts.

More: Missouri legislature adjourns after policy priorities and politics clash in election-year session

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Governor signs MO redistricting map, finalizing election districts