Missouri House overrides Nixon veto of redistricting plan

by Shane D'Aprile - 05/04/11 5:10 PM ET

More on the vote from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Earlier this week, House Republican leaders said that they would seek to override the governor’s veto as soon as they secured the 109 votes needed. Today, by a vote of 109-44, they finally did.

Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, the House redistricting chair, called it “an historic vote,” and House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, said he was “thrilled with the result.”

But getting the override to the House floor wasn’t easy.

Securing 109 votes meant that all 105 House Republicans needed to be present for the vote, and that four Democrats would have to join the majority vote.

Today, perfect Republican attendance required Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, to take a two-hour leave from the hospital, where he was admitted last night.

“He wanted to be here,” Diehl said of Reiboldt after the vote.

Missouri’s Republican Party hailed the vote in the state House Wednesday.

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“This bipartisan vote sends a clear message that Missouri’s representation in Congress should be determined by the duly-elected representatives of the people rather than unaccountable judges,” Missouri GOP Chairman David Cole said in a statement. “We hope the State Senate will act quickly so Missourians will have certainty about their future representation in our nation’s capital.”

The new map eliminates Rep. Russ Carnahan’s (D) district and places the entire city of St. Louis into the district of Rep. Lacy Clay (D). Both Democrats have denounced the plan.

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