Congressional map approved by Missouri Senate splits Boone County in two
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Senate was split for months trying to find a compromise on the new maps for U.S. House of Representatives districts. Now that a compromise has been reached, it's Boone County that finds itself split.
In the map passed with a 22-10 vote Thursday afternoon by the Senate, Boone County is split between the third and fourth congressional districts. State lawmakers are required by the state constitution to redraw the congressional districts to reflect population growth or decrease reflected in each Census.
Majority leader Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, represents Boone and Cooper County. Rowden voted in favor of the map that splits one of his own counties because he said someone had to step up and make a compromise.
"The blessings and curses that come with being in these positions is that sometimes you gotta put your money where your mouth is as it relates to being able to get something done," Rowden said.
The split puts Centralia, Hallsville and Ashland in the third district represented by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Jefferson City. Sturgeon and Harrisburg are still in the fourth district. Representation for the fourth district is up in the air as Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Archie, is running for Missouri's open seat on the U.S. Senate.
Senators pulled an all-nighter working on a compromise that would get enough votes to pass.
"Kind of the turning point was. I'll tell you what I think it was: kind of about midnight last night where you actually had about a dozen senators sitting in a room looking at a big screen with a map on it having a very candid, honest conversation about what they wanted to accomplish," said Sen. Bill Eigel, R-St. Charles.
Rowden said it was the most sensible to split Boone County because of its large population.
"We realized at some point that because Boone County is the connector between the third and fourth that it made sense to do that as well," Rowden said.
The map will go to the Missouri House for approval before going to the governor's desk to be signed. The Senate approved an emergency clause that would allow the maps to go into effect immediately after the governor signs it.
Senate lawmakers said they're hopeful the House will also approve the emergency clause so the maps can go into effect before candidate filing closes on Tuesday, March 29.
"I hope that's a clear kind of indicator to folks in the House that you know even if you don't love this map even if you're not gonna vote for it it doesn't change the fact that there's a tremendous amount of urgency to get this thing done and get this signed by the governor," Rowden said.
