KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri Republican lawmaker last week blasted out-of-state influence amid an ongoing redistricting fight, writing on social media that “Missouri’s elections aren’t decided in California.”

But the post that U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner criticized was not about the state of California. It was an article from the California Democrat, a small newspaper in California, Missouri.

Wagner’s apparent social media misfire has sparked criticism from her opponents, who framed it as an example of her being out-of-touch with Missouri voters. The controversy comes as Missouri faces a bitter and protracted gerrymandering fight after GOP state lawmakers voted to redraw the state’s congressional map under pressure from President Donald Trump.

The article that Wagner reposted centered on a campaign collecting signatures to force a statewide referendum vote to strike down the map. The newspaper wrote about signature collectors in California, a roughly 4,500-person city in the middle of Missouri.

“Missouri’s elections aren’t decided in California,” Wagner wrote in the now-deleted tweet. “The real threat isn’t our map, but the Soros-funded network trying to manufacture outrage. Missourians will choose Missouri’s future.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is seeking to flip Wagner’s seat in 2026, slammed the post in a statement to The Star on Monday.

“If Ann Wagner was actually paying attention to Missouri, she’d know people are furious that Jefferson City Republicans are splitting up communities in a desperate attempt to hold onto power,” said DCCC spokesperson Lindsay Reilly. “Wagner is showing just how out of touch she is – both with Missouri voters and with the basic geography of her state.”

Polling both nationwide and in Missouri has consistently shown that voters overwhelmingly oppose gerrymandering. The new Missouri map splits Kansas City-area voters into three GOP-leaning districts in an effort to force out of office Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

The campaign has faced fierce resistance from GOP opponents. The referendum has sparked intense national interest, with millions of dollars flowing into Missouri both to oppose and support the effort.

A spokesperson for Wagner, in an email to The Star, appeared to reject the notion that the tweet was a mix-up between the Missouri city and the state of California.

“Of course, the Congresswoman knows where California, Missouri is; that’s ridiculous,” said spokesperson Arthur Bryant, who then doubled down on Wagner’s criticism of outside influence.

“Thank you for exposing the dark money, George Soros led groups funding the Dem efforts to overturn redistricting,” Bryant wrote. “Missouri should be for Missouri, not billionaire liberal Democrat dark money groups.”

While critics have piled on against Wagner, the tweet also illustrated Missouri’s infamous history of quirky city and town names, such as Cuba, Lebanon, Versailles, Paris, Mexico and Uranus.

In addition to the redistricting fight, Wagner’s apparent gaffe comes as she attempts to fend off a Democratic challenger and keep her St. Louis-area U.S. House district under GOP control in 2026.

A spokesperson for her Democratic opponent, Fred Wellman, also attacked Wagner’s knowledge of Missouri in a statement to The Star that suggested reporters ask the Republican if she knew where Kansas City and St. Louis were located.

“We haven’t seen her for so long, we’re starting to wonder if she forgot about the whole state,” said spokesperson Chelsea Rodriguez.

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