Missouri’s Republican-majority state House is likely to agree to the Senate-passed compromise on the state’s congressional redistricting plan on Monday.
The Missouri state House stands adjourned until Monday. The filing deadline for candidates seeking to run in primaries for one of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats is Tuesday.
Sources in the Missouri state House tell The Star News Network that the hope for 7-1 GOP majority Missouri congressional maps is “gone” and that the House is expected to agree to the Senate plan which passed on Thursday.
The Star News Network previously reported that the Republican majority Missouri State Senate passed a redistricting plan by a 22 to 10 margin that fails to improve the GOP’s position in the current partisan makeup of the state’s eight congressional districts.
The existing Missouri delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives consists of six Republicans and two Democrats. The plan that the state Senate passed on Thursday, as well as the plan that previously passed the state House in January, effectively keeps the existing partisan makeup of those districts.
Governor Mike Parson is expected to sign the plan that the Missouri legislature ultimately agrees to, having previously indicated that he’d be willing to sign either a 6-2 or a 7-1 map.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, former governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens, and other conservative members of the Missouri Legislature pushed for a redistricting plan than adds one U.S. House seat to the GOP partisan makeup column and subtracts one from the Democrats.
State Senator Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis) was one of the loudest voices against anything that wasn’t a 7-1 GOP majority congressional delegation map.
“It is the Pelosi map. It is the RINO map,” he said of the previously passed state House-passed map. “It is the sellout map. It is the bought-and-paid-for map. It is the insider Jeff City swamp map intent on giving away one to two congressional seats to Nancy Pelosi and the congressional Democrats.”
Given the entrenched nature of the debate over the redistricting lines and the immediate looming candidate filing deadline, it is expected that the House will agree to the Senate-passed map which accomplishes the same partisan makeup that their originally passed version did. It is unclear if there is any effort that could be made prior to Monday that could change that eventuality.
Republicans control the Missouri legislature and the governor’s mansion.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Dean Plocher (Left)” by Dean Plocher. Photo “Mike Parson (Right)” by Office of Missouri Governor. CC BY 2.0. Background Photo “Missouri State House of Representatives” by JL Johnson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
