County clerk's stance lights fiery rhetoric in Senate

JEFFERSON CITY — Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon’s ears may have been burning Thursday as she was both castigated and praised on the Senate floor over her stance on Missouri’s new congressional map.
Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, brought forth a remonstrance of Lennon early Thursday. The remonstrance is a non-binding motion, formally cataloging Brattin’s objection and placed in the Senate Journal.
Lennon and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins aired their differences of opinion about voting preparations for the August primary in a Missouri Independent article that was posted Wednesday.
In the article, Lennon said she could not move forward with aligning voters and voting precincts to congressional districts because Hoskins has delayed certifying a citizens’ petition seeking to block gerrymandered seats approved by the legislature’s Republican majority last fall.
The Missouri Supreme Court upheld using the map in a ruling Tuesday but noted that Hoskins’ delay in certifying the petition left them hamstrung over whether the map was legal. Hoskins has until Aug. 4, the date of the primary, to make that decision and indicated this week he intends to use all the time allotted before issuing a ruling.
In his speech on the floor, Brattin called on Lennon to rescind what he termed a “ridiculous, nonsensical statement.” He warned that he would call upon the attorney general and Boone County prosecutor to pursue her removal from office if noncompliance continues.
“I think that this is repugnant,” Brattin said. “This is unbecoming of a clerk, who’s meant to be an umpire on the field, executing the law of the land.”
Brattin has a vested interest in ensuring the new map is used in November. He is considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in U.S. House District 5, the Kansas City-area seat that was targeted when the map was redrawn last September.
Under the new map, the Fifth District includes a chunk of northern Boone County, in Lennon’s jurisdiction.
Within the hour, Brattin received pushback from Democrats, who lauded Lennon and insisted that Tuesday’s court ruling does not provide the final say on whether the map is now in effect.
Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, praised Lennon as a dedicated public servant who possesses unparalleled expertise on local elections.
“I don’t think there’s a single person in the state of Missouri in 2026 who knows more about elections,” he said in defense of his county’s clerk.
Webber also spoke highly of Lennon’s character and the manner in which she conducts her job as clerk, which places her in charge of elections and public records.
“She conducts herself with integrity, and she takes her job very, very seriously, and she’s very professional about it,” he said.
The Supreme Court ruling does not offer the procedural clarity that Republicans celebrated, Webber argued. He read directly from the court’s decision, which said it was “impossible to say” whether the new map was already in law or had simply been approved by the legislature and sent to voters for a final say.
“The actions of this legislature, and more specifically the actions of the Secretary of State following what’s happened in this legislature, have put our local county officials in a spot where they’re not clear what they’re supposed to do,” Webber said.
“They’re not playing games, they’re not being partisan; they just don’t know,” he added.
Webber received concurrence immediately after from Sens. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, and Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, who both highlighted that redistricting efforts threaten to silence their city’s voice in Congress.
“I really applaud the Boone County clerk for doing what she’s doing,” Nurrenbern said.
For his part, Hoskins reaffirmed his stance that the new map is in place, issuing a letter Thursday afternoon to local election authorities directing the maps’ immediate implementation.
Reached for comment Thursday afternoon, Lennon said that the new communication from the Secretary of State’s office did not change her perspective on the new map.
When asked about the situation with Lennon at a press conference, Gov. Mike Kehoe asserted his faith in the court’s decision and said all county clerks were compelled to follow its guidance.
“As you saw in the Supreme Court this week,” Kehoe said, “the Missouri First map is the law of the land. My expectation is that clerks will follow the law of the land.”