Hey Everyone! I’m partnering with another newsletter this week that’s a fantastic resource for climate news. Meet Planet Days!

"Climate change is finally getting more attention on Capitol Hill. But will all that talk lead to climate action? Or is it just a bunch of greenwashing? Planet Days, a green newsletter for a greenwashed planet, cuts through the noise and offers visions of a greener future. Every Monday, we round up the top climate stories for the week and what it means for our planet. And every other Friday (or so), we break down what it actually means to be green — in topics ranging from recycling to electric vehicles. 

Through Planet Days, we hope to spark discussions about climate change that reach audiences beyond the traditional environmental insiders. And we hope that in the process, we can move toward a better, smarter, and, yes, greener planet. Subscribe Today!”

Topline Takeaways

• Republicans had complete control over the redistricting process in Missouri.

• The party was split on which maps to approve as a contingent of hard-line Republicans wanted to draw Democrats out of Kansas City.

• The party eventually settled on a compromise map that instead makes the state’s lone competitive district, MO-2, much more safe for the Republican party.

Who’s In Control?

Missouri’s redistricting process is governed by the state legislature and requires the governor’s signature for approval. Since the GOP holds majorities in both state houses alongside a Republican governor, Republicans had complete control over Missouri’s new congressional map. Despite holding all the power, the party still had its drama as hard-line Republicans put up a fight against more moderate mapmakers who aimed to preserve the status quo.

New District Breakdown

Two blue districts is one too many for some Missouri Republicans. After the state House passed a map that preserved St. Louis and Kansas City’s deep-blue districts, radical Republicans in the state Senate engaged in a 31-hour filibuster to fight for a map that favored their party more heavily.

“This is the Pelosi map, it is the RINO map, it is the sellout map. It is the bought-and-paid-for map. We cannot give away 1-2 congressional seats to Nancy Pelosi and the congressional Democrats.”

-Sen. Bob Onder, advocating for a politically gerrymandered map that favors his party

These Republicans were fighting for a “7-1” map where the state’s Democratic constituency, well over 1 million voters, would be represented by a single member in the House. They aimed to do this by cracking Emanuel Cleaver's seat in Kansas City. They sought to split Jackson county in such a way that would transform a district that voted for Biden by a landslide 26 points into a district with a slight lean towards Trump. This degree of gerrymandering was too much for even some Republicans to bear. After a lengthy Senate standoff where legislators read lyrics from Fall Out Boy and Johnny Cash songs to kill time, a compromise was finally reached.

Republicans ultimately decided to keep the “6-2” map with the blue dots remaining in place for St. Louis and Kansas City voters. Instead, Republicans got creative and tried their hardest to draw a Republican leaning district in the St. Louis suburbs. The previous configuration of this district was quickly sprinting away from Donald Trump’s vision of the Republican party. Voters here supported Trump by an 11-point margin in 2016 but he only beat Biden by about 100 votes in 2020.

The district’s House incumbent, Ann Wagner, was seeing the same trend moving against her in elections across the last decade. Wagner was first elected to Congress in 2012 and won her first few elections by wide margins of 20 or 30 points. Donald Trump’s tenure as president proved difficult for her as in 2018 she came within 4 points of losing to Democratic challenger Cort VanOstran. Wagner saw yet another close race in 2020, winning by 7 points this time. Republicans’ changes to Wagner’s district move the its expected vote toward the right by about 8 points, not quite enough to shift the district out of swing territory.

One more side effect of these changes: Republicans quite literally drew away the competition. Democratic candidate Ben Samuels withdrew his candidacy from the House primaries and claimed the changes make the district “unwinnable” for Democrats.

Leftover Links

• Here more from Ben Samuels on how partisan gerrymandering rewards political extremism in potential candidates.

• Explore the crowded slate of candidates running for Missouri’s open Senate seat.