Missouri governor calls special session to redraw congressional maps in push to boost GOP seats

The announcement from Gov. Mike Kehoe comes the same day that fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed his state's new congressional maps into law.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Friday that he will convene the state’s General Assembly for a special session next week to redraw congressional maps as Republicans push to create more GOP-leaning districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Kehoe said in a statement outlining the move that for the special session starting Wednesday he is directing the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature to “take action on redistricting” to ensure districts “truly put Missouri values first.”

“Missourians are more alike than we are different, and our Missouri values, across both sides of the aisle, are closer to each other than those of the extreme Left representation of New York, California, and Illinois,” he said.

The Missouri General Assembly has a Republican supermajority, with the party controlling two-thirds of the seats in both the House and Senate.

Though Democrats in Missouri are limited in their ability to prevent their GOP colleagues from moving ahead with new maps, state Sen. Doug Beck, the top Democrat in the chamber, said in a fundraising post on X that the party will “fight this at every step.”