The US Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Missouri from using a Republican-drawn congressional map in November’s midterm elections, leaving the state’s previous district boundaries in place weeks before voters head to the polls.
The justices granted an emergency request from opponents of the new map, temporarily halting a federal judge’s ruling that would have required Missouri to conduct the general election using boundaries adopted by the Republican-led legislature in 2025.
The order means Missouri is expected to use its 2022 congressional map for the November election. Under those boundaries, Republicans currently hold six of the state’s eight US House seats.
At the center of the dispute is Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).
The newer map substantially reconfigured Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district and was designed in a way that could have given Republicans an opportunity to capture seven of Missouri’s eight House seats.
The redistricting effort began after President Donald Trump encouraged Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Opponents of the Missouri map responded by organizing a referendum campaign and submitting more than 300,000 signatures seeking to put the new congressional boundaries before voters.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected that referendum effort, arguing that congressional redistricting legislation was not subject to the state’s referendum process.
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously disagreed.
In a Sept. 3 decision, the state’s highest court ruled that the referendum petition was legal, sufficient and timely and that the 2025 redistricting legislation therefore never took effect.
The court ordered Hoskins to place the referendum on the November ballot and said the congressional districts established by the legislature in 2022 remain legally operative for this year’s general election.
“The congressional districts the General Assembly established in 2022 remain in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election,” the Missouri Supreme Court wrote.
Hoskins and other supporters of the new boundaries then turned to federal court.
US District Judge Stephen Clark issued a conflicting ruling Tuesday requiring Missouri to use the newer map, reasoning that voters had already participated in the August primary under those districts and that changing boundaries before the general election could cause additional disruption.
The conflicting state and federal rulings created uncertainty over which congressional districts Missouri election officials were required to use.
Hoskins’ attorneys argued that Clark’s order was necessary to prevent disruption for voters who had already cast primary ballots under the new boundaries and to keep the state compliant with the federal election calendar.
The Trump administration also supported Missouri’s request to use the newer districts, warning that another late map change could interfere with preparations for the November election.
Thursday’s Supreme Court action effectively put Clark’s federal ruling on hold while restoring the practical effect of the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision.
It was the second time in days that the dispute reached the nation’s highest court.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh had previously declined an emergency request seeking to stop the Missouri Supreme Court ruling that prevented implementation of the 2025 map.
The timetable has added urgency to the legal battle.
Missouri officials are already facing election deadlines, including preparations for ballots scheduled to begin going out later this month, per Trending Politics.
Hoskins is separately facing proceedings in Missouri over his response to the state Supreme Court’s earlier order, including a contempt hearing related to the dispute.
Unless further court action changes the situation, Missouri voters will cast congressional ballots in November under the 2022 boundaries while also deciding whether to approve the newer map through the referendum ordered by the state Supreme Court.
