{"id":9205,"date":"2026-04-20T05:50:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T10:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/missouris-emanuel-cleaver-is-running-for-reelection-where-though-is-uncertain\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T05:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T10:50:07","slug":"missouris-emanuel-cleaver-is-running-for-reelection-where-though-is-uncertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/missouris-emanuel-cleaver-is-running-for-reelection-where-though-is-uncertain\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri\u2019s Emanuel Cleaver is running for reelection. Where, though, is uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\n

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver introduces Joe Biden at a campaign rally at the National World War I Museum and Memorial on March 7, 2020 in Kansas City (Kyle Rivas\/Getty Images).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Emanuel Cleaver isn\u2019t a stranger to a standard reelection run. Someone with his level of time spent in office might even call it a speed-walk. He\u2019s been elected 11 times to the U.S. House of Representatives and two times as mayor of Kansas City \u2014 the first African American to hold that post. Before that, he served 12 years on the City Council in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

But this year, the veteran politician, who will turn 82 the week before Election Day, isn\u2019t facing a standard reelection: All of those past races have been in Cleaver\u2019s Kansas City backyard. This time, he\u2019s facing the prospect of having to stump for votes from Kansas City to Columbia.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because Cleaver was target No. 1 in last year\u2019s mid-decade redistricting effort by the Missouri General Assembly, part of a national battle between the Democratic and Republican parties to gain political advantage in November\u2019s midterm elections. In Missouri, where Republicans hold the levers of power, they are hoping to replace one of the two Democrats who currently represent the state in Washington with another Republican.<\/p>\n

So far, Missouri\u2019s courts have denied Democrats\u2019 efforts to block the redistricting. But Cleaver is pinning his hopes on a last-ditch effort that will allow him to keep his Kansas City-centered district. For now, Cleaver is focusing on the area he currently represents and not plotting how to win votes in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t thought one minute, one second about it, because it\u2019s illegal,\u201d the congressman said in an interview with the Missourian.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see why Cleaver would rather not face the prospect of a redrawn district. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district that Cleaver currently represents \u201csolid Democrat,\u201d notes one of the organization\u2019s analysts, Matthew Klein. \u201cIt\u2019s historically been based in Kansas City, a very Democratic part of the state,\u201d he said. \u201cEmanuel Cleaver has really faced no serious electoral challenges going back several cycles at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if the Democrats\u2019 last chance of stopping redistricting doesn\u2019t materialize, Klein predicts it could spell an end to Cleaver\u2019s long political career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe advantage that Republicans would have under the new map is so strong that even for a longtime incumbent and even in what looks like it is probably going to be a fairly favorable climate for Democrats, it\u2019s just almost impossible to overcome that degree of partisan advantage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The proposed new map divides Cleaver\u2019s old district three ways, with the new 5th District encompassing the areas of Kansas City, east of Troost Ave.<\/p>\n

Cleaver called the choice to split along Troost \u201cthe most psychological, painful thing that happened, not just to me, but the African American community in Kansas City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, it\u2019s been the dividing line between where African Americans could live and then where other majority communities would live,\u201d Cleaver said. \u201cIn the early 1900s, it was called the wall because it separated these communities. And it had a long history of ugliness and division.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the map the legislature crafted, the area\u2019s majority-Black neighborhoods east of Troost will be drawn into the predominantly white rural areas between Kansas City and Columbia.<\/p>\n

Cleaver argued that it threatens to leave the people he has spent a career representing without a voice in Congress. \u201cThere are some people who will be running who have no experience in either living in communities of color or having the relationships that allow them to work with people of color,\u201d Cleaver said.<\/p>\n

The Missouri legislature\u2019s decision to redraw the state\u2019s congressional districts came in response to a call from President Donald Trump last summer for GOP-controlled states to redraw their congressional maps to help the GOP maintain control of the House. Democrats have followed suit in the states they control and legal battles have ensued.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the case in Missouri, where Democrats have waged a series of legal battles to stop the redistricting. The last remaining chance to restore the congressional districts created after the 2020 census revolves around a petition drive mounted by a national coalition, People Not Politicians. The group\u2019s representatives say they\u2019ve gathered more than 300,000 signatures from people in support of establishing a referendum, on the maps on the next election ballot.<\/p>\n

If Missouri Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins deems there are sufficient signatures calling for a referendum \u2014 under state law, he has until July to make that determination \u2014 the old maps would remain for the November election.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the answer right now is to what map is Emanuel Cleaver running in? What district? The honest answer is, we don\u2019t know,\u201d said Richard Von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians.<\/p>\n

Cleaver acknowledges that it complicates his reelection strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uncertainty is not good. It\u2019s not good for the voters. It\u2019s not good for the politics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Uncertainty over maps isn\u2019t unprecedented. Von Glahn said that maps after the 2020 census weren\u2019t finalized until late May 2022. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t leave candidates a lot of time to communicate with voters. So I understand that, that can be frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether they are ratified, the new maps are the result of what is known as gerrymandering, University of Missouri political scientist Scott LaComb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGerrymandering is the process of manipulating district lines for some sort of political gain that could include partisan gerrymandering, which means drawing district lines to benefit one political party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cleaver noted that his seniority has given him strong ties with his colleagues, including Missouri\u2019s mostly Republican members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have relationships with most of the members of the delegation,\u201d Cleaver said. \u201cI can tell you this, none of them are actively out campaigning for redistricting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleaver was the first to file paperwork for this year\u2019s reelection filing, but where he will actually be running and whose vote he is hoping to catch is still up in the air. He\u2019s the only Democrat running in the 5th Congressional District; six Republicans are vying for their party\u2019s nomination in the Aug. 4 primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats are going to respond. They\u2019re going to fight fire with fire,\u201d Cleaver said. \u201cBut I also said that when you fight fire with fire, nothing will be left except ash. And I think that\u2019s where we\u2019re headed.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian<\/a>. It can be republished in print or online.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver introduces Joe Biden at a campaign rally at the National World War I Museum and Memorial on March 7, 2020 in Kansas City (Kyle Rivas\/Getty Images). WASHINGTON \u2014 Emanuel Cleaver isn\u2019t a stranger to a standard reelection run. Someone with his level of time spent in office might even call it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri\u2019s Emanuel Cleaver is running for reelection. 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