Sen. Greg Razer joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum on the latest episode of Politically Speaking to talk about how state and local governments are reacting to the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus — and the impending special session on congressional redistricting.

The Democrat represents Missouri’s 7th District, which takes in a portion of Kansas City and several other municipalities in Jackson County. He was elected to his seat in 2020 after serving two terms in the Missouri House.

Here’s what Razer talked about during the program:

• Reaction in Kansas City to increased COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates. He said his constituents understand why they’re necessary, but he added that many vaccinated people are frustrated they have to mask up again to protect people who refuse to get vaccination shots.
• Efforts from some of his GOP colleagues to ban private-sector vaccine mandates. While that proposal has the support of six Republican senators, it’s not been embraced by Gov. Mike Parson or the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.
• What the legislature would need to do to prevent Medicaid from running out of money as expansion rolls out in the coming weeks.
• His expectations for the special session on congressional redistricting. One potential storyline is whether Republicans will try to make Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district unwinnable for a Democrat.

A native of Cooter, Missouri, Razer moved to Kansas City after attending the University of Missouri-Columbia. While he was at Mizzou, Razer had the honor of being the school’s mascot, Truman the Tiger, during sporting and student activity events.

Razer spent eight years as a deputy regional director for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. He was responsible for a large part of western Missouri, including rural outposts in the state’s northwest and central counties.

Last year, he easily won a Democratic primary for the 7th Senate District — which was tantamount to a general election win, since that district tilts heavily toward Democrats.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Greg Razer on Twitter: @gregrazer