JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The House perfected a congressional redistricting map that seems to favor Republicans in a 6-2 manner Tuesday afternoon, striking down other proposals put forth on the floor.
Two proposals, in particular, were drawn to give Republicans an additional edge in Washington — something conservatives and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft have said they would prefer to see.
Ultimately, the version worked on in the House Redistricting Committee was perfected in an 84-60 vote. Here’s a look at what else was proposed but did not make it through.
Rep. Nick Schroer
The first proposal out of the gate was from Rep. Nick Schroer. His version would have kept St. Charles County in one congressional district (the 2nd) while splitting both Jackson and Boone counties between three districts. This map would have favored Republicans 7-1.
Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth raised a point of order that the map would result in unlawful apportionment, and Speaker Rob Vescovo ruled it was well taken — thus sending Schroer’s map back.
Rep. Ron Hicks
Next, Rep. Ron Hicks offered a map that he also said would favor Republicans 7-1. It split Boone County between the 4th and 5th congressional districts and also divided Jackson County into three congressional districts. The 7th district would have moved to include the most southeastern counties of the state, along the I-49 corridor, which garnered praise from Rep. Dirk Deaton. St. Charles County would have remained intact in the 3rd congressional district.
Hicks’ proposal failed on a 23-120 roll call vote with House Republican leadership voting against it.
Rep. Crystal Quade
For the Democrats, House Minority Floor Leader Crystal Quade presented a map that would have changed CD 1 to move a little more to the northwest, increasing the Black and minority population in the majority-minority district. Parts of Jackson County would have been included in the 6th congressional district.
Her version failed on a voice vote.
Rep. Jerome Barnes
Democratic Rep. Jerome Barnes, the ranking minority member on the Special Committee on Redistricting, proposed a map that would have added a little more of Jackson County to the 6th congressional district.
However, his proposal was quickly defeated.
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley offered a map that moved the 1st congressional district a bit more to the northwest, increasing the Black and minority population in the majority-minority district. It failed on a voice vote, however.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
