The Republicanism of the Missouri legislature

[politicallefty]

Wasn't Missouri the state where minority Democrats ensured their minority status in order to protect minority districts at the expense of the party? From what I recall, Governor Nixon vetoed the Republican gerrymanders, but was overridden by the Republican majorities with the support of several Democrats (prior to the Republicans reaching supermajority status).

In terms of the Congressional map, 5R-2D and one toss-up was definitely achievable under a fair map. All that had to happen was for Democrats to sustain Nixon's veto. Instead, it's 6R-2D, probably for the remainder of the decade. If I had to guess, the legislative maps are similar to that of the Congressional map. Missouri's already a tough state for Democrats, with their voters mostly in St. Louis and Kansas City. In a state like that, the gerrymandering really exacerbates the already problematic geography for Democrats.

I think the best Democrats can hope for is to reduce the supermajorities down to a simple majority.