Missouri Supreme Court Blocks Trump-Backed Congressional Map, Orders Statewide Vote

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously blocked new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map. The decision on Thursday marks a setback for Republicans in a national redistricting effort that Trump urged GOP-run states to initiate last year. Republicans had anticipated that Missouri's new congressional boundaries could assist them in winning an additional seat and maintaining their slim House majority in the midterms. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, stated she would immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the decision "has thrust our state into a full-fledged constitutional crisis." Missouri's new districts were utilized in the August primaries. However, the state Supreme Court ruled that they cannot be used in the November general election — or ever again, unless voters first approve the new districts passed by the Republican-led Legislature. The court determined that the new districts were effectively placed on hold in December when opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures seeking to put the map to a vote of the people. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition on primary election day in August, asserting that the referendum process cannot be used for congressional redistricting. A lower court agreed, but the Supreme Court overturned Hoskins' decision. "The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise," the court stated in its ruling. The legislation containing the new districts "did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters." Consequently, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census "remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election." Hanaway, whose office represented Hoskins, described the ruling as an unprecedented violation of federal law. Republican Governor Mike Kehoe, who proposed the new congressional map to lawmakers, echoed this sentiment. "Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election," Hanaway stated. Trump commented via his Truth Social platform, indicating that the Missouri justices had "ridiculously ruled in favor of changing the maps back to what they were a long time ago" — referring to the previous maps before state lawmakers modified them last September. The Missouri Constitution does not explicitly state that a referendum petition can be used for a congressional redistricting law passed by the Legislature. However, the Supreme Court ruled that a constitutional provision allowing a referendum on "any act" of the Legislature includes congressional redistricting. It dismissed claims from Hanaway's office that federal law prohibits referendum petitions on congressional redistricting. Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, which sponsored the referendum petition, stated, "This is what democracy looks like. The people of Missouri demanded a voice, and the court just confirmed what we've been saying all along. People, not politicians, will have the final say." Hoskins acknowledged the loss and vowed to continue "the war to preserve our constitutional republic." The ruling, which concluded a year of political maneuvering and legal disputes, was one of two unfavorable decisions for Republican officials on Thursday. The Supreme Court also ruled that Hoskins had incorrectly rejected a petition for a ballot proposal that would make it more difficult for politicians to alter measures enacted by voters through citizen initiatives. The court ordered that measure to be placed on the November ballot. Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. After Trump urged Republicans to redraw congressional districts to their advantage, Kehoe convened lawmakers in a special session last year to significantly reconfigure the 5th Congressional District, which is held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. Cleaver, who was unopposed in the August primary, has consistently won the Kansas City-based district with at least 60% of the vote in the past two elections. Republican state Senator Rick Brattin won an August primary in the reshaped 5th Congressional District, which had been extended eastward to include rural Republican areas. Approximately 59% of the district's voters were new under the revised map, according to an Associated Press estimate. Cleaver had not posted campaign signs in many of the new rural areas, explaining that he was awaiting the Missouri Supreme Court's decision. However, he vowed to continue his reelection campaign regardless of the outcome. "Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won," Cleaver stated in a social media post on Thursday. Brattin, a Marine veteran and founding member of the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus in the state Legislature, argued that the decision disenfranchises thousands of primary voters who will now be shifted to different districts with candidates they did not choose. He stated that the court "handed Democrats a decision they desperately needed in their effort to help national Democrats retake the U.S. House of Representatives." Congressional districts are typically redrawn at the start of each decade based on new census data. However, Trump's pursuit of a midterm election advantage triggered an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle that affected more than a dozen states and resulted in numerous lawsuits in Missouri alone. The Missouri Supreme Court ruling was one of the few nationally to oppose Republicans' redistricting plans. Prior to this ruling, Missouri's top court had already rejected claims that the special session was illegal, that mid-decade redistricting is not permitted, and that the new districts lack compactness. After the Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday, a couple hundred people rallied outside the courthouse, chanting "Let us vote!" Grant Christensen, of Jefferson City, stated that he had signed the referendum petition to put the map to a vote. "Gerrymandering is the same as voter suppression," Christensen said. "Cutting up districts in order to steer them to vote one way or the other is not fair."