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Missouri Lawmakers Grapple with Congressional Re-Districting

Numbers from the 2000 Census show some congressional districts in Missouri will have to be re-drawn.

Missy Shelton has this story on re-districting from the state capitol.

Before the November election last year, a top official in the Missouri Republican Party promised a Republican takeover of either the state House or Senate would mean the top Democrat in the U-S House of Representatives Dick Gephardt would be drawn out of his St Louis district.

But now that Republicans have control of the state senate and hold a majority on the committee that's in charge of re-districting, they say they're reluctant to go after Gephardt.

David Klindt chairs the Senate re-districting committee.

He says party officials aren't asking him to go after Gephardt.

Steve Stoll, one of the two democrats on the Senate re-districting committee says he doesn't sense the Republicans will try to cut Gephardt out of his district.

He says he's not sure if the talk last year about targeting Gephardt was serious.

Gephardt's seat isn't the only that needs some adjustment.

Southwest Missouri's Congressman Roy Blunt has too many constituents in his district.

Stoll says that means some voters on the fringe of the seventh district will shift to other districts that need to gain constitutents.

The Senate Re-districting committee plans to introduce a bill and map next Tuesday.

While the bill will face tough scrutiny from both Republicans and Democrats, committee members say they hope to present a fair proposal that everyone can support.

SOC