over the years, so to be honest, I don't think they're going to be able to stretch the boundaries that much, being that they stretched them so much from before, that I strongly suspect that lawsuits fighting redistricting efforts/boundaries/etc. are very possible and within the boundaries of actually working.
PORTIONS OF COPIED ARTICLE: In the 2024 election, Republicans won six seats, while Democrats won two seats. This was achieved by packing Democratic voters around the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas into two districts. Districts 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 were all won comfortably by Republicans. District 2 was won by a Republican as well, though the margin was just 12 percentage points. That district borders on St. Louis County, moving west from the city. Districts 1 and 5 were won by Democrats — the Kansas City-based District 5 less comfortably than the St. Louis-based District 1. Because the old District 5 was won by a Democrat by less than 80,000 votes in 2024, the new map cracks the Kansas City area across new Districts 4, 5 and 6. The excess Republican votes in the old Districts 4 and 6 (especially 4) are now joined with the old District 5 to guarantee Republicans will win the new District 5. The remapping dilutes the Democratic vote in the Kansas City area.
The St. Louis would be more problematic for Republicans to capture. They could have tried to use a small section of the old District 2 to connect more voters from the old District 8 to dilute more of the Democrat voters in the new District 1. This new District 1 will also be the only majority minority district in the state, needed to satisfy the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Republicans could have gerrymandered it more effectively, if they were willing to risk the new Districts 2 or 3 and violate the Voting Rights Act, which would have made it an easy target for lawsuits. But they weren’t, so the new District 1 will go to a Democrat as it now stands.
I apologize for long article, I didn't copy or paste all of it, too long. But there is some hope that MO is getting tRUMP-fatigued, especially w/ tRUMP going after our seniors (MO is a retirement mecca, believe it or not), and MO is a 'show me state', and tRUMP doesn't not have the sterling rep that he thinks he has. Logic does overcome his false perceptions that he's pushing onto voters.
= new reply since forum marked as read