JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — All states must redraw their U.S. House and state legislative districts to account for population changes noted by the 2020 census. But a delay in census data because of the coronavirus pandemic compressed the timeline to accomplish the task. Political gridlock and legal battles have further complicated things in some states.
Missouri is one of several states where candidates still face uncertainty about their new districts.
“I don’t want people to look at me and feel like I’m not committed. So it’s important to day one, hour one, sign up."
Missouri’s U.S. House districts remain a mystery because of gridlock among majority party Republicans in the state Legislature. The state House passed a proposed map last month that’s projected to continue the state’s 6-2 Republican edge among districts. But progress stalled in the state Senate, where a conservative coalition is pushing for a more dramatic redrawing that could give the GOP a shot at winning seven of the eight seats.
Republican Audrey Richards, of the Branson area, filed to run in the 7th Congressional District in the southwestern corner of Missouri.
“According to the map that has been proposed, I am barely — just barely — still on the inside” of the district, Richards said.
Filing to run seemed a better option than waiting for certainty about the district boundaries, she said.
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