KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Residents in Kansas City and across Missouri on Tuesday received a mass text urging them not to sign onto a campaign to strike down the state’s gerrymandered congressional map.

The text message, which was also sent to multiple reporters at The Star, said it was paid for by the Republican National Committee. The RNC has contributed $50,000 to a multimillion dollar effort to halt the anti-gerrymander campaign.

“Black Friday Shoppers Beware,” the text message, which does not specifically mention the campaign, reads in part. “Out of state interests are setting up booths and tables in high traffic areas during Black Friday shopping trying to trick people in to signing petitions.”

The mass text appears to target a campaign, called People Not Politicians, collecting signatures to force a statewide referendum vote to repeal the congressional map. Missouri Republican lawmakers approved the map, which splits Kansas City, over the fall under pressure from President Donald Trump.

Missouri has drawn intense national interest for its role in the redistricting, fight and millions of dollars have poured into the state to both oppose and support the map. The referendum campaign has faced a series of attacks from state officials, mysterious efforts to pay off signature-gatherers and a new opposition group backed by national Republicans.

A representative from the RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The national Republican organization is one of four high-dollar contributors to a political action committee, called Put Missouri First, opposing the referendum campaign. A lawyer for the PAC, Marc Ellinger, did not respond to a call for comment.

The mass text comes as the referendum campaign is racing to collect signatures across the state. Campaigners have until Dec. 11 to turn in enough signatures to force a statewide vote on the map in 2026.

Richard Von Glahn, the executive director of the referendum campaign, said in an interview that the text was part of a pattern designed to “manipulate and intimidate and scare voters.”

“What’s very clear is that voters have an opportunity to sign a petition to protect their power, and we’re going to continue to make that available to people and people are going to continue to sign it,” Von Glahn said.

When asked about the text on Tuesday, Miles Ross, the executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, echoed the RNC’s arguments in a statement to The Star and claimed that there were “serious questions about the signature collection tactics” in Missouri.

“The text from the RNC is warning Missourians to be cautious when giving out personal information this holiday season,” Ross said. “Unfortunately, there are always malicious actors that wish to take advantage of Missourians’ generosity during the holiday season.”

One top Democratic lawmaker who had seen the message said in an interview that the mass text was “par for the course” for Missouri Republicans and “their friends in Washington, D.C.”

“I’m disappointed to see it, but not surprised,” said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat. “Because dirty politics is just sort of how they operate.”

Aune added that she felt it was “really rich” that the message from a national Republican organization was criticizing “out of state interests.”

“The first sentence is, ‘out of state interests are setting up booths and tables,’ when this is paid for by a campaign committee in Arlington, Virginia,” Aune said.

Onslaught of attacks

Tuesday’s effort is the latest in a string of political maneuvers over the fate of the map.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, also filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the referendum. Hanaway also alleged without evidence that a firm working with the campaign was “reportedly employing illegal aliens” and asked federal immigration officials to investigate.

The campaign and the firm it’s working with, Advanced Micro Targeting, have flatly denied Hanaway’s claims and framed them as another attempt to stifle the campaign.

The mass text on Tuesday referenced Hanaway’s allegations, saying, “These groups are under investigation by the Attorney General for improper conduct.”

“DON’T GIVE THEM YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION!” the text message said.

Meanwhile, a flurry of additional lawsuits over the map are winding their way through the courts.

One, filed against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins alleges the top Republican election official illegally delayed the campaign by refusing to accept its paperwork and cast doubt on the validity of roughly 90,000 signatures.

The new map, signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, is intended to allow Republicans to control seven of the state’s eight congressional districts as Republicans nationwide seek to maintain control of Congress after the 2026 election.

The map takes direct aim at Kansas City and longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, carving the city’s voters into three Republican-leaning districts. It also slices more than 70,000 minority voters out of Cleaver’s district.

People Not Politicians launched its referendum campaign shortly after the vote and almost immediately began collecting signatures to strike down the map. Referendum campaigns, outlined in the Missouri Constitution, allow voters to challenge most bills passed by state lawmakers.

Campaigners have until Dec. 11 — or 90 days after the legislature adjourned — to collect enough signatures in at least six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts to force a November 2026 statewide vote.

The campaign must collect the amount of signatures that equals 5% of voters in each of those districts, based on numbers from the most recent election for governor. That number would be around 106,000, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office.

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