Community Corner
Where Did My Congressional District Go?
Mehlville is one of the areas that will affected by the changes approved Wednesday by the Missouri General Assembly.
It’s not like Rep. Russ Carnahan didn’t see it coming.
Ever since the U.S. Census Bureau announced in December that Missouri was one of 10 states to lose a congressional seat, the working assumption has been that the Missouri Republican Party would do everything in its powers to eliminate the third congressional district, currently represented by the Democrat.
After a few dust ups, the Missouri General Assembly, controlled by Republicans, voted to override the governor’s veto of the state’s redistricting map on Wednesday, making the map final barring any legal challenges.
Find out what's happening in Mehlville-Oakvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed House Bill 193 last Saturday, sending it back to the state legislature, giving hope to some Democrats that the third congressional district would be saved.
But it was not to be. In a historic vote, seven Democrats joined with Republicans in the first override of a gubernatorial veto since 2003 and only the seventh veto override since 1875. The Missouri General Assembly has never voted to override a gubernatorial veto of a redistricting proposal.
Find out what's happening in Mehlville-Oakvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Where does this leave Carnahan? He will either need to run in the new first congressional district against fellow Democrat Rep. Lacy Clay, or in the the new second district, currently served by Rep. Todd Akin, a Republican.
Akin, however, is widely expected to enter the race for Senate, opening a whole Pandora’s box of political possibilities.
Parts of the third district went to the eighth congressional district, served by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican, which will cover parts of southeast Missouri down in the Bootheel all the way up into Jefferson County.
The rest of the third district was folded into the second district, which will now include south St. Louis County, encompassing dozens of suburbs all the way north into St. Charles County.
Meanwhile, parts of the first district moved south and west, including parts of Clayton and Richmond Heights.
Voters across the St. Louis region are likely to see some new faces as the 2012 election season get underway.