JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A statewide battle over Missouri’s new congressional map intensified this week as national Republican organizations began urging voters to remove their signatures from a referendum petition challenging the plan. Missourians received text messages last week telling them they may have “accidentally signed” the petition and directing them to call a southwest Missouri number to withdraw. The texts cited Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who previously said signatures collected before his office approved petition language would not count, though his office said it did not coordinate with the Republican National Committee.
The map at issue, passed in September, aims to give Republicans control of seven of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats by redrawing Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district. President Trump pushed Missouri lawmakers to follow Texas in strengthening GOP advantages in the narrowly divided U.S. House, prompting Senate Republicans to change chamber rules to expedite passage.
People Not Politicians, the group seeking a referendum, must gather roughly 110,000 signatures by Dec. 11. The map’s future now hangs in multiple courtrooms. State courts are reviewing challenges to the map’s boundaries, while a federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether congressional redistricting can legally be subject to a referendum at all.
Millions in outside funding are flowing into both sides. People Not Politicians has raised nearly $5 million from national donors, while the GOP-aligned Put Missouri First has collected more than $2 million, including contributions from groups tied to Trump allies.
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