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New redistricting lines create new makeup for Missouri's 3rd Congressional District

"It does make this district a lot more meandering and a lot more diverse in its constituents than it used to be."

ST. LOUIS — Blaine Luetkemeyer is working to keep his job as the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 3rd District.

While many believe the incumbent has a good shot of winning another term in office, his redrawn district is a big change for Missouri.

The Missouri Senate approved the state's new congressional redistricting map in May.

Credit: KSDK

The 3rd District now stretches it from Boone County and almost touches St. Louis City limits to the north and the south. 

Use the slider in the center to compare the old district to the new district.

Nancy Price, League of Women Voters of St. Louis Vice President, said she doesn't believe the re-drawn lines were focused on the voters.

"When you look at the third district, it's very non-compact. It looks like a giant C," she said.

Price said redistricting is all about keeping counties together, where people have similar interests. 

"If they have different issues, than it's harder for a candidate to address all their different needs," Price said.

The new 3rd District includes St. Charles, Jefferson City, and parts of Lake Ozark, Columbia, and O'Fallon.

According to 5 On Your Side's Political Analyst Anita Manion, counties that used to have sections in the 3rd District, like Franklin, Lincoln and Warren, now have parts in the 2nd District.

"It does make this district a lot more meandering and a lot more diverse in its constituents than it used to be," she said.

Manion says the area most affected by these re-drawn lines is the home of the University of Missouri's campus.

"I think this is going to be a big change for Columbia because the city is now split in half, so you could live on one side of Columbia and be in the 4th District and live in the other side and be in the 3rd District," she said.

Congressional lines aside, the Republican and Democratic nominee is who voters in the 3rd District will be deciding on come Tuesday, August 2. 

KNOW TO VOTE: Missouri primary 2022: Voter guide for St. Louis area

Hoping for his 7th term in office, Manion believes, incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer is the front-runner. 

"I think that it would be hard to oust him in a district that's going to be heavily Republican," she said.

Luetkemeyer is up against Dustin Hill, Richard Skwira Jr. and Brandon Wilkinson. 

In an email Dustin Hill said, "After two decades of foreign warzones - both in the military and out - I came home and realized that everyone back here was in a battle of their own. The American people want their government back - and I intend to give it to them. I owe them that, as they've supported me my entire life."

Brandon Wilkinson said, in an email, "I am a Christian, Constitutional conservative, who will fight for the 2nd Amendment, election integrity, fiscal responsibility, border security, and our great military, veterans, first responders, seniors, and people in the district!"

As far as the Democratic nominee for the 3rd District, Manion believes, Jon Karlen and Bethany Mann are the two to watch out for.

"I’m a 43 year old husband and father of a high school sophomore in O'Fallon, Missouri. I’m running for office because I’m scared of the damage Republicans are doing to our state and country and want a better future for my daughter than the one we are a collision course with," Karlen said, in an email.

Bethany Mann wrote, in an email, "My goal is to make Missouri and the 3rd district a leader when it comes to important issues that support working families and build up the middle class. I believe in equal and fair bargaining rights for farmers and workers, advancing infrastructure from broadband internet to roads, bridges, electrical grids, and clean water, and ensuring that every student gets a high-quality education in fully and equitably funded public schools."

Karlen and Mann are up against Andrew Daly and Dylan Durrwachter. 

Daly said, in an email, "I want to bring back common sense back into politics. I want decency. I want us to advance humankind, but we cannot do that if those politicians keep taking us a step forward and two steps back."

No matter who you chose, Joan Hubbard with the League of Women Voters of St. Louis said, the most important thing is to show up to the polls.

"We need maximum turnout for the primaries because those are the people that we will see again in November. Please vote," she said.

RELATED: Missouri lawmakers adopt US House districts with GOP edge

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