Thousands flood Missouri Capitol to protest gerrymandering, direct democracy overhaul

Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on Sep 10, 2025

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The massive crowd first gathered on the front steps of the Missouri Capitol.

One by one, they entered the domed building where state laws are made, holding signs and hurling chants. They traveled from Kansas City, St. Louis and across rural Missouri.

Thousands of people descended on Jefferson City on Wednesday to protest Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s special session that would gerrymander Missouri’s congressional map and overhaul the state’s initiative petition process.

“NO RIGGED MAPS,” said one sign.

“LET EVERY VOTE COUNT,” said another.

Swarms of people, including union workers, activists and residents, held one of the largest rallies inside the Capitol rotunda in recent years. They roamed the halls of the building and packed into the gallery overlooking the Missouri Senate.

The protest came a day after the Missouri House approved the proposals in party-line votes. Senate Republicans are hoping to pass both by the end of this week, but Senate Democrats will likely attempt to halt them through a prolonged filibuster.

Kehoe’s special session call came under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has urged Republican states to redraw their U.S. House maps to ensure Republican control of Congress. Missouri’s map would carve Kansas City into three GOP-leaning districts.

The session marks a crucial moment for both Kansas City and Missouri, potentially altering the trajectory of both for years to come. Protest attendees emphasized the historic moment in interviews with The Star.

Splitting KC

Jim Edson, Kathy Marincel and Patricia Muhilly traveled to the Capitol from Midtown Kansas City. All of them currently live in the 5th District, but did not know where they would be located under the new proposed map.

Under the proposed map, Kansas City voters would be split into the 4th, 5th and 6th Congressional Districts. Cleaver’s 5th District would extend hundreds of miles east to central Missouri, while the 4th District would stretch from downtown Kansas City to the Ozarks region.

The map would use Troost Avenue, a historic symbol of racial segregation in Kansas City, as the dividing line between the 4th and 5th Districts.

“It’s a terrible idea — absolutely terrible,” Marincel said of the map’s use of Troost. “Troost has been the dividing line in Kansas City.”

Edson emphasized that Kansas Citians would be sharing the congressional districts and representatives as people living in rural parts of central, northern and southern Missouri.

Those residents have different needs than people in Kansas City. He worries about how a change in congressional leadership would affect the city’s priorities and federal funding, such as a planned expansion of the KC Streetcar.

“We have nothing in common with a lot of the folks south of Kansas City,” Edson said.

GOP charges forward

Throughout the afternoon, the chants criticized Kehoe, Trump and the Republican-controlled General Assembly. In the end, the conversation always shifted back to the importance of democracy.

“The rules are being changed and nobody gave permission for them to be changed,” said Floyd Bell, a St. Louis-based union president.

Roughly two hours after the protest began, the Republican-controlled Missouri Senate charged forward and gaveled into session, intent on redrawing the map and overhauling the petition process.

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