It's not surprising that Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder is supportive of a special session to redraw Missouri's congressional districts.
Then a state senator, Onder was a strong supporter in 2022 of creating a map with seven Republican-leaning seats and one Democratic-leaning district. Even though his colleagues firmly rejected that idea, they may resurrect it next month after President Donald Trump prodded Republican-leaning states to recraft U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
"We are a Republican state. Republicans have supermajorities in the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate," Onder, of St. Charles County, said in an interview that aired Thursday on St. Louis on the Air. "Republicans hold all of our statewide elected offices, including, of course, governor. And I believe that we should pass a congressional map that reflects the values of the state of Missouri."
Onder and a number of other conservative Republicans felt the General Assembly missed an opportunity in 2022 to transform Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's 5th District in Kansas City into a more Republican seat.
But Republicans rejected the so-called 7-1 map in 2022, because they feared that it would help Democrats by making Reps. Mark Alford's 4th District and Sam Graves' 6th more competitive. That's because converting Cleaver's district into a Republican seat would require putting significant numbers of Democratic voters into the 4th and 6th districts.
Graves publicly opposed the 7-1 map in 2022, fearing it would backfire during a potential blue wave election year for Democrats. And while Missouri U.S. Reps. Jason Smith, Ann Wagner and Eric Burlison have joined Onder in supporting a redraw, Graves declined to back the idea now in a statement to St. Louis Public Radio.
"Redistricting is up to the state legislature and the governor. I will wait and see what they decide to do," Graves said.
Alford told St. Louis Public Radio that he is neutral on whether Republicans should redraw the map, but conceded his district will likely become more competitive than it is now.
Onder said he doesn't think mid-decade redistricting will hurt Republicans.
"It is possible to draw a map where some of the currently held Republican seats are in jeopardy," Onder said. "But we have seats that have wide enough margins that I think it's pretty straightforward math to draw seven very safe Republican seats."
Big changes for the 3rd District?
Onder's district will likely go through a significant change if lawmakers redraw maps.
The 3rd District stretches from St. Charles and Jefferson counties to mid-Missouri. It was drawn that way at a time when U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, of Miller County, was in office. Some critics contend the irregular-looking district resembles the video game character Pac Man and ran afoul of constitutional compactness requirements. Courts have upheld the 3rd District's composition since the 2010s.
Onder said he would like to have all of St. Charles County in the 3rd District, which would fulfill a long-term goal for Republicans there. That would mean he would have to cede territory to other members of Congress, though it is unlikely it would make the seat competitive for Democrats.
"I think it would make a lot of sense to make things more compact and contiguous with my district, including all of St. Charles and some of the exurban counties," said Onder, referring to places like Lincoln and Pike counties.
Currently, St. Charles County is split between Onder and Wagner. If Onder takes all of St. Charles County, Wagner would likely have to pick up voters in Jefferson County.
"If [Wagner] gives up that territory, and let's say, goes down into some of the more rural areas, I think you're exchanging Republican voters for Republican voters," Onder said.
"St. Louis on the Air" brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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