Voters across Missouri late last week received a text message urging them to take their names off petitions they may have "accidentally signed."
The message, labeled as the work of the Republican National Committee, dropped the name of Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, saying he had "declared TENS OF THOUSANDS of petition signatures IMPROPERLY COLLECTED." The text, from a number in southwest Virginia, gave a number to call in southwest Missouri to withdraw a signature.
The number, when called, goes straight to a voice mail system and promises people who leave a number that they will be called.
The mass text was the latest maneuver in the fight over Missouri's gerrymandered redistricting map, which is drawing millions in donations from dark money groups on the right and left — including $2 million over the weekend from a pair of Republican nonprofits.
The deadline is approaching for opponents of the map to submit signatures to force a referendum while the question of which signatures to count and whether a referendum is even possible remains mired in state and federal courtrooms.
The text messages refer to a statement Hoskins made Oct. 15 that signatures gathered before he approved the form of a referendum petition would not count and gathering them before the approval "constitutes a misdemeanor election offense."
"We did not coordinate with the RNC with this and it was a surprise to us," Rachael Dunn, spokeswoman for Hoskins, said in an email to The Independent.
Dunn said she was one of the Missourians who received the text. The number listed is not an official number, she said, and referred other questions to the Republican National Committee.
The Republican National Committee did not respond to a message seeking comment.
7-1 map
In September, Republicans in the General Assembly muscled through a new congressional redistricting plan intended to give the GOP an edge in seven of Missouri's eight districts. Republicans currently hold six of the seats and want to flip the 5th District, held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City since 2005.
President Donald Trump made it a test of loyalty for Missouri to follow Texas in the effort to shore up the GOP's thin majority in the U.S. House. After a call from Trump, state Senate Republicans changed the rules to limit Democratic efforts to stall the debate.
A PAC called People Not Politicians announced soon after the map was passed by the legislature that it would seek a referendum, which needs about 110,000 signatures distributed across six congressional districts by Dec. 11 to force the plan to a statewide vote. If the petitions are submitted, the map would be prevented from taking effect until the vote.
In federal court, Hoskins is suing People Not Politicians and arguing that a redistricting plan is off-limits to a state referendum because the federal Constitution precludes it.
That legal position has not been heard in a trial and Dunn said petitions will be processed like any other initiative if they are received in time.
It is possible to remove a name from a petition, Dunn said. A voter wishing to do so should contact the secretary of state's elections office directly, she said, and use an affidavit form provided by the office.
Missouri Republican Party Chairman Peter Kinder, who is also a member of the national committee, said he didn't know anything about the text campaign when contacted Monday.
"The RNC is very interested in the events going on here," Kinder said. "They have been following this very closely in Missouri and are interested in it. Whatever they want to do along these lines is fine with me."
Money flowing
Almost $7 million has been raised by the two campaign committees preparing for a referendum, almost all of it from outside the state.
People Not Politicians has raised almost $5 million, including $3.1 million since Sept. 30, with several large checks coming from national groups that also donated to the 2024 campaign to legalize abortion.
The largest donors are American Opportunity Action, which gave $1.4 million and was incorporated and staffed last year by longtime Democratic operatives; the Health Forward Foundation of Kansas City, which gave $750,000; the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, which provided $500,000; and the George Soros-financed Open Society Action Fund, which gave $450,000.
Put Missouri First, formed on the last day of October, has taken in $2.1 million, with $1 million on Friday from each of two donors, the American Action Network, which aired ads blaming Democrats and Soros for the government shutdown; and Securing American Greatness, formed last year by long-time Trump advisor Taylor Budowich, who recently resigned as White House deputy chief of staff.
In court
The next two important court dates come next week on Monday and Tuesday.
On Monday, a Jackson County judge will consider consolidating — and perhaps dismissing — two lawsuits challenging the redistricting plan, including one that argues the bill establishing the map is flawed because it places the same Kansas City precinct in two districts.
And on Tuesday, a federal judge in St. Louis will hear arguments over whether the federal Constitution's directive that legislatures establish congressional districts means no referendum can be held on the plan.
A decision that could come as early as Friday may help decide if a referendum is even needed. Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh heard arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the redistricting plan.
Limbaugh also now has the case raising the question of when a referendum campaign can begin. He was assigned the case after two previous trial dates were canceled — once because the original judge was sick that day and again last week after Put Missouri First intervened and asked for a delay.
Chuck Hatfield, attorney for People Not Politicians, said he intends to be in court Tuesday morning to ask Limbaugh to set the trial date as soon as possible. He and attorney Marc Ellinger, who represents Put Missouri First, clashed over the need for a delay when the second trial date was canceled.
Ellinger could not be reached for comment on what he will ask Limbaugh to do. Hecould oppose the motion, saying he needs more time to prepare. In election cases with looming deadlines, Hatfield said, parties are often eager to get a decision.
That may not be the case, he noted.
"I don't know," Hatfield said, "if we're in an agreeable mood with everybody right now."
This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent.
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