National Republicans Send Deceptive Text to ‘Confuse and Intimidate’ Missouri Voters

Political text messages are a dime a dozen, helping campaigns and political action committees (PACs) raise funds, promote candidates, or denigrate their opponents.

But few go as hard as an intimidating message urging Missouri voters to remove their names from an anti-gerrymandering petition “before it’s too late.” 

The manipulative text, sent out last week, is just the latest tactic Republicans are using in their madcap effort to prevent Missourians from putting the GOP’s gerrymander plans to a statewide referendum. And unlike many such political texts, this one came directly from the national Republican Party.

Referendum supporters are calling it a “blatant attempt to confuse and intimidate voters.”

“Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has declared TENS OF THOUSANDS of petition signatures IMPROPERLY COLLECTED. Did you accidentally sign this? Text back or call 417-612-9044 to withdraw your signature before it’s too late,” the message reads. 

It came to public attention after Elad Gross, a former Democratic candidate for Missouri Attorney General, received the text and published a screenshot on Facebook. Soon, other Missourians responded saying they had also received it.

The ad was paid for by the Republican National Committee (RNC), according to a disclosure accompanying the text. 

Missouri is one of three states that moved to gerrymander its congressional map this year solely at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is demanding GOP-controlled states redraw to win more Republican seats in 2026. 

But unlike in Texas and North Carolina, the Missouri Constitution gives voters the power to stop the gerrymander by collecting signatures and putting a veto referendum on the ballot.

To do that, People Not Politicians, the advocacy group leading the referendum effort, must gather over 106,000 signatures within 90 days after the state legislature’s special session on redistricting adjourned. That deadline is coming up on Dec. 11. 

If they accomplish that, the new map will be suspended until Missourians have the opportunity to vote on the measure.

Republicans are now pulling out all the stops to block the referendum. They are challenging it in federal court, proposing deceptive ballot language for the measure, creating administrative delays, attempting to reject tens of thousands of signatures, delaying the courts from weighing in on the rejected signatures, and even falsely warning Missourians that signing the petition is a crime. 

In an Oct. 15 press release, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins announced he would reject the 90,000 signatures organizers collected during the first month of the 90-day period. He also threatened the Missourians who had already signed the petition, stating: “Under Missouri law, no signatures gathered before this approval date are valid, and doing so constitutes a misdemeanor election offense.”

Hoskins, an elected Republican, reversed course the next day, admitting that signing the referendum isn’t illegal. But he informed voters that it is a criminal offense to sign the same measure more than once.

People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit in state court challenging Hoskins’ rejection of the signatures.  

Republicans then tried to convince a judge to delay their hearing by requesting discovery. When that failed, they rescheduled the hearing twice by repeatedly demanding a different judge.

The GOP’s legal delays are spearheaded by the Put Missouri First PAC, a committee formed in October and funded by two $50,000 contributions from the National Republican Congressional Committee and the RNC.

The intimidating text message went out on Friday, as Republicans were once again attempting to change judges and delay the case — a move that would also prolong the public’s confusion over whether their signatures count. 

Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, told Democracy Docket that the messages are part of a desperate attempt to stop the referendum.

“The RNC doubled down on [Secretary of State] Denny Hoskins’ illegal and inaccurate statements regarding signature collection in a blatant attempt to confuse and intimidate voters,” he said. “Politicians are terrified that Missouri voters will get the last say in their unpopular gerrymander and are desperately trying to stop it.”