Republicans already redrew Kansas City’s congressional district after President Donald Trump urged states to revisit their maps in an effort to preserve Republican control of the U.S. House. Now, comments from some Missouri Republicans are fueling concerns that the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District could eventually face similar scrutiny.
The Missouri Supreme Court recently upheld lawmakers’ authority to redraw congressional districts mid-decade, rejecting arguments that Gov. Mike Kehoe exceeded his authority when he called lawmakers into special session to redraw the Kansas City-based district represented by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
The map also faces a separate challenge. People Not Politicians, a coalition that opposed the redraw, submitted more than 300,000 signatures seeking a referendum that could suspend the new map pending a statewide vote. Whether the measure qualifies for the ballot remains under review by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.
While the 1st District, represented by U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, was left intact, some Black elected officials and voting-rights advocates say recent legal developments and public comments from Republican officials suggest the district could become a future target.
The 1st District, which includes most of St. Louis and parts of St. Louis County, remains the state’s strongest Democratic congressional seat and the district where Black voters are most politically concentrated.
Hoskins has openly questioned districts drawn around race.
Drawing districts based on skin color is the “definition of racism,” Hoskins recently told reporters. “We don’t want that in Missouri.”
According to a News From the States report, Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, urged the U.S. Department of Justice to examine districts around the country that were drawn to protect Black voting strength.
“These maps do not become constitutional because they’re already in use,” Schmitt said, according to News From the States. “They do not survive because politicians call them voting rights maps. Yet, they will not disappear on their own. The Department of Justice has an obligation to act.”
Rachel Dumke, a spokeswoman for Schmitt, said, “Redistricting is up to the state legislature, but this SCOTUS decision ensures that should the 1st District be redrawn, it will not be done so based on race.”
Black lawmakers from St. Louis are on guard.
State Rep. Marty Murray, a Democrat from St. Louis, believes the district could eventually face another redistricting fight.
“I think they’ll try … I think the phone calls will come in to try to redistrict it,” Murray said.
State Sen. Brian Williams, a Democrat from St. Louis County, said Black political leaders should remain vigilant.
“I don’t put anything past this administration to influence the legislatures throughout the country,” Williams said. “And I think this summer, we need to be just as engaged — encouraging folks to register to vote, and most importantly, talk about the importance of protecting voting rights as well as representation in our city and beyond.”
The concerns stem in part from recent legal and political developments beyond Missouri.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling involving Louisiana did not affect Missouri’s congressional map. But Republicans nationally have pointed to the decision as evidence that districts historically justified under the Voting Rights Act deserve renewed scrutiny.
Last year, Republicans successfully redrew Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district after Trump encouraged Republican-led states to revisit congressional maps. PBS reported that Kehoe called lawmakers into special session after Trump publicly urged states to redraw districts in hopes of strengthening Republican prospects in future House elections.
According to Fox 2, Republican lawmakers concluded that changing the St. Louis district would have been more difficult politically and legally than altering Kansas City’s district.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represented Black Louisiana voters in the Louisiana case, said the Supreme Court ruling could weaken protections that have helped ensure fair representation for Black voters and communities.
Supporters of the 1st District argue that the St. Louis-centered district reflects longstanding communities of interest and preserves the ability of Black voters to elect candidates of their choice. Critics contend that race should not play a role in how district boundaries are drawn.
The district’s roots stretch back more than six decades.
In his book “Bill Clay: A Political Voice at the Grassroots,” the late Congressman William Clay Sr. wrote that a coalition of Republicans, Black legislators and rural Democrats helped create a district centered on St. Louis’ Black community. The arrangement made it likely a Black candidate would be elected in St. Louis while neighboring districts remained favorable to Republicans. That framework largely endured for more than 60 years.
Now, some supporters of the district worry that political assumptions that long protected it may be changing.
Cleaver argued the Kansas City redraw would “silence voices” and “deny representation.”
Bell called the recent redistricting effort “bluntly partisan and unfair.”
“It continues taking our constitutional rights down a dark path not befitting the promise of the greatest democracy the world has ever known,” Bell said.
The 1st District survived Missouri’s latest round of redistricting. But after Republicans successfully altered Kansas City’s congressional district and began publicly questioning districts drawn to preserve Black voting strength, some elected officials and voting-rights advocates say the fight over Missouri’s congressional map may not be over.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.