ICYMI: DNC Turbocharges Missouri Voters’ Efforts To Fight Rigged Maps Arrow

Yesterday, a day after Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe signed gerrymandered congressional maps into law, the DNC made a new investment to support Missourians' organizing efforts to fight these rigged maps.

With this investment, the DNC is supporting Missouri Democrats' work to collect the required signatures for a citizen referendum, which would force a statewide vote on fair maps, stopping Republicans' unilateral power grab.

From Missouri to Ohio to Texas, the DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people.

Take a look at some of the coverage below:

Salon: DNC backs drive for Missouri gerrymandering referendum

[Russell Payne, 9/29/25]

"Democrats in Missouri are launching a new petition to block state Republicans from implementing their newly gerrymandered maps ahead of the 2026 elections - and doing so with the financial support of the national party, a source with the Democratic National Committee told Salon. If successful, voters would get a chance to weigh in on the GOP scheme to give President Donald Trump and his party an extra seat in the House. …

"Now the DNC is funding the effort, with money going to hiring organizing staff to manage the campaign, and organizing volunteers both in Missouri and outside the state. Out-of-state volunteers will help contact Missourians by text over the next 90 days.

"'After passing Trump's Big Ugly Bill that kicks 230,000 Missourians off their health insurance and puts four rural hospitals at risk of closing, Missouri Republicans are scared they will lose in 2026 and beyond,' DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement to Salon. 'That's why they are trying to cheat. The DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people - that's why we're partnering with Democrats on the ground to ensure Missourians choose their maps, not Trump or his Republican enablers.'"

The Hill: DNC invests for Missouri referendum over newly signed House map

[Caroline Vakil, 9/29/25]

"The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Monday it is making an investment to help Missouri Democrats put the state's newly signed GOP-friendly House map to a statewide vote ahead of the 2026 midterms. …

"The DNC's investment would go toward efforts such as using its 41,000-volunteer team to send texts to residents about signing onto the petition and helping staff collect signatures in the state.

"'After passing Trump's Big Ugly Bill that kicks 230,000 Missourians off their health insurance and puts four rural hospitals at risk of closing, Missouri Republicans are scared they will lose in 2026 and beyond,' DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

"'That's why they are trying to cheat,' he added. 'The DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people - that's why we're partnering with Democrats on the ground to ensure Missourians choose their maps, not Trump or his Republican enablers.'"

St. Louis Public Radio: Democratic National Committee will contribute to blocking Missouri congressional map

[Jason Rosenbaum, 9/29/25]

"The DNC announced on Monday that it will be contributing staff and financial resources to bolster a referendum effort to place the new map up for a statewide vote. A group called People Not Politicians is trying to collect roughly 106,000 signatures before the middle of December to prevent the new lines from going into effect until a successful statewide vote.

"Shelby Wiltz, DNC national political director, said the party will devote staff to help gather the necessary signatures and provide direct monetary support to the Missouri Democratic Party. Already, the People Not Politicians effort has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars since lawmakers passed the congressional map during a special session in mid-September.

"'Missouri has a really unique tool, which is the citizen referendum, which allows Missourians to be the ones who get to have the ultimate say about how their votes get counted and about how their maps are drawn, not Donald Trump, not Republicans,' Wiltz said. 'So we are eager to help them in that fight. And so we've made some investments to make sure that they're able to be successful.' …

"Wiltz said a referendum could bring about high stakes for President Donald Trump, who pressured Missouri Republicans to pass the new map. If voters reject the new map, it could show that Trump's national push to redraw congressional lines is unpopular even in GOP-leaning states like Missouri.

"'There's some things that Democrats and Republicans still agree on, and running fair elections is one of them, having transparency in our elections is one of them, having your voice counted fairly is one of them,' Wiltz said."

Ozarks First: Mo. Democrats get help from DNC in fight against redistricting

[Mark Zinn, 9/30/25]

"In a statement, the chair of the Democratic National Committee announced the party would be assisting efforts to prevent the map from going into effect. Their main avenue to do this is through a voter referendum.

"'The DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people - that's why we're partnering with Democrats on the ground to ensure Missourians choose their maps, not Trump or his Republican enablers,' DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement.

"The national party says they will deploy their well-funded apparatus to assist and coordinate with volunteers who are in a rush to gather more than 100,000 signatures from Missouri voters before a Dec. 11 deadline."

KCTV: Democratic National Committee invests in effort to overturn Missouri's new congressional maps

[Greg Dailey and The Associated Press, 9/29/25]

"The Democratic National Committee announced 'a new investment to help Missourians on the ground obtain the required signatures necessary' to put the new map to a statewide vote. …

"The DNC stated that it will support the Missouri Democratic Party by:

• Hiring organizing staff to run signature-collection efforts statewide.
• Supporting volunteer organizing efforts to collect signatures across the state.
• Deploying a volunteer organizing team of 41,000 volunteers across the country to send texts to Missourians to sign the petition.

"'After passing Trump's Big Ugly Bill that kicks 230,000 Missourians off their health insurance and puts four rural hospitals at risk of closing, Missouri Republicans are scared they will lose in 2026 and beyond. That's why they are trying to cheat,' DNC chair Ken Martin said. 'The DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people - that's why we're partnering with Democrats on the ground to ensure Missourians choose their maps, not Trump or his Republican enablers.'"

KSDK: DNC launches pushback against Missouri GOP's new congressional map

[Mark Maxwell, 9/29/25]

"The Democratic National Committee is wading into Missouri's redistricting fight, announcing new investments to block what it calls 'rigged' Republican maps signed into law this weekend by Gov. Mike Kehoe. …

"'At the behest of Donald Trump, Missouri Republicans rigged their congressional maps to avoid accountability for Trump's Big Ugly Bill, which kicks hundreds of thousands of Missourians off of health care,' the DNC said in a release. 'They did this by drawing out Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, the former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.'

"… The DNC says its new investment will support the Missouri Democratic Party's on-the-ground efforts to gather signatures, including hiring staff, mobilizing volunteers across the state, and deploying a national text-bank of more than 40,000 volunteers.

"DNC Chair Ken Martin framed the fight as part of a larger clash over Trump's influence in Missouri politics.

"'After passing Trump's Big Ugly Bill that kicks 230,000 Missourians off their health insurance and puts four rural hospitals at risk of closing, Missouri Republicans are scared they will lose in 2026 and beyond. That's why they are trying to cheat,' Martin said. 'The DNC won't stand idly by as Republicans try to take the power away from the people - that's why we're partnering with Democrats on the ground to ensure Missourians choose their maps, not Trump or his Republican enablers.'"