The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, September 25, 2026, issued an unsigned opinion rejecting an attempt to use a new, Republican-backed congressional map for Missouri’s upcoming midterm elections. The justices halted a federal appeals court ruling that would have implemented the revised districts, which were supported by President Donald Trump and Republican Governor Mike Kehoe. The high court’s decision requires Missouri to use the congressional districts established in 2022.
The ruling follows a series of conflicting court orders and a state-level citizen petition. Earlier in September, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a petition signed by 300,000 residents prevented the new map from taking effect unless voters approved it in a November referendum. While U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark and a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later issued orders favoring the new map, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked those actions to avoid what it described as "electoral chaos" during ongoing voting.
The legal dispute centered on a map passed by Missouri lawmakers last September that significantly altered the 5th Congressional District held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). The revision shifted parts of Kansas City into neighboring Republican-held districts and moved the 5th District into rural areas. According to an Associated Press estimate, 59% of potential voters in that district were new to the area, and approximately 1 million voters statewide—nearly 1 in 4—were moved to different districts under the proposed plan.
The ruling maintains the current competitive landscape in which Republicans hold six of Missouri's eight House seats. The rejected map was designed to assist Republicans in securing a seventh seat by reshaping a Kansas City-based district. Because the 8th Circuit's attempt to revive this map was blocked, the legal precedent reinforces the authority of state-level referendums to pause redistricting legislation. The Supreme Court's unsigned opinion noted that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) was "well aware of the risk" when he chose to reject the referendum petition on the day of the August primary, a delay that the court indicated contributed to the legal uncertainty.
Missouri voters will now have the final say on the proposed redistricting plan through Proposition A on the November ballot. If voters approve the proposition, the new map could be implemented for future elections; if they reject it, the 2022 boundaries will likely persist until the next redistricting cycle. The Supreme Court’s directive explicitly told lower courts not to "enjoin or otherwise prohibit" the use of the 2022 map for this specific election cycle, effectively ending the litigation before the November general election.