As Republicans in Missouri push forward with their plan to draw Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver out of his Kansas City seat, a new poll of voters in the state is against the mid-cycle redistricting effort.
Nearly half, or 48 percent, of Missouri voters oppose the move, according to a new Change Research survey commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee obtained by POLITICO. Meanwhile, 37 percent of the 1,242 registered voters surveyed support the move, with 19 percent undecided. The poll was conducted from Aug. 29-31 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
On Wednesday, Missouri legislative Republicans introduced their redrawn map, which GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe has asked to pass as quickly as possible. The effort in the Show-Me state follows a similar effort in Texas, which may ultimately net five new GOP-leaning seats for Republicans as they work to cling to their narrow House majority.
The state would gain one new Republican-leaning seat with the proposed map, leaving just one blue seat out of eight total districts.
The new map is likely to pass. Republicans hold a supermajority in the state’s Legislature, and Kehoe has been a strong proponent of the move.
The poll also asked voters whether they would vote for a ballot initiative to create an independent redistricting commission in the state, and 52 percent of voters in the state said they would, with 22 percent opposed. (Though the state Legislature is taking aim at the ballot measure process, too.)
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