Missouri Supreme Court throws out GOP-favored House maps
The Hill · C · trust 50/100
Comments: by Caroline Vakil and Julia Mueller - 09/03/26 6:15 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Caroline Vakil and Julia Mueller - 09/03/26 6:15 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING The Missouri Supreme Court dealt a blow to President Trump and Republicans Thursday, ruling the GOP could not issue a new map aimed at giving the party an additional seat in the House until the congressional lines are approved by voters in November.
The decision is a setback for Republicans, who had sought to quickly pass a new GOP-friendly 7-1 map in the House this cycle, meant to dismantle Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo.) district and give the Republican Party one more pickup opportunity.
Instead, the high court ruled that a citizen-led referendum aiming to halt the implementation of the map and put it to a vote in November could proceed.
The congressional lines “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters,” the court said in its decision. “The congressional redistricting the General Assembly established in 2022 remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.”
Missouri Democrats swiftly declared victory.
“The Missouri Supreme Court just unanimously ruled to reverse the gerrymandered, anti-democracy maps until THE PEOPLE have a chance to vote. This is only possible because of the work done by our neighbors to gather signatures and fight back!” the party said on the social platform X.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) said her office would “immediately” seek relief from the Supreme Court.
“Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election. This unprecedented decision clearly violates federal law and has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis,” Hanaway said in a post on X.
Missouri Republicans last year moved forward with redistricting amid pressure from the White House and national Republicans to join a redistricting tit-for-tat with blue states that had kicked off in red Texas.
Republicans already hold six of eight House seats, but the new map would have dismantled Cleaver’s Kansas City district to make the seat more winnable for the GOP.
Missouri’s Supreme Court previously ruled this spring that state lawmakers did not violate the state constitution in redrawing the maps. A Cole County judge also rejected an effort to suspend the new maps as organizers gathered signatures to challenge them.
In early August, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) blocked the referendum, declaring the petition led by People Not Politicians unconstitutional and triggering a lawsuit after the group had turned in more than 300,000 signatures to get it on the ballot. Hoskins argued that, under the state constitution, redistricting plans approved by the General Assembly aren’t subject to a referendum process.
But the seven-member Missouri Supreme Court — on which five of its judges were appointed by a Republican governor — unanimously ruled that the referendum petition was “legal, sufficient, and timely” and that Hoskins “incorrectly concluded otherwise.”
Barring intervention from the nation’s highest court, voters are now set to have the final say in November on whether the maps take effect in 2028.
For the time being, the court said Missouri’s congressional districts established in 2022 “remain in full force and effect for this year’s general election.”
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