Supreme Court Halts Use of New Missouri GOP Congressional Map
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency order blocking a Missouri official’s attempt to implement a newly drawn Republican congressional map, leaving the 2022 map in place for the upcoming elections.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday issued an emergency order that stops Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins from using a newly drawn Republican congressional map for this year’s elections. The brief order, issued without noted dissents, responded to a request from the advocacy group People Not Politicians, led by activist Richard von Glahn.
The ruling suspends a decision by U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, who had ordered the new map’s use despite the Missouri Supreme Court’s contrary finding. With the Supreme Court’s intervention, the state is expected to retain the 2022 congressional map, which currently allocates six seats to Republicans and two to Democrats.
"Only Judge Clark’s order is preventing the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of voters who participated in the primary election using the new congressional map," Hoskins’ lawyers told the justices minutes before the order was released.
The Trump administration also filed a brief supporting Hoskins, arguing that overturning Clark’s ruling would jeopardize the ability of state officials to conduct a timely and lawful federal election.
The dispute stems from a 2025 congressional map enacted by Missouri Republicans as part of a broader redistricting effort. Opponents gathered signatures for a state referendum to block the map, but Hoskins delayed a decision on placing the measure on the ballot, asserting that legislative redistricting plans are not subject to voter approval. The Missouri Supreme Court, which has a Republican-appointed majority, disagreed, stating that state law does not exempt congressional maps from a voter referendum.
The federal lawsuit was filed by Republican candidates Rick Brattin and Bob Onder, along with two voters, seeking to enforce the new map that would eliminate one Democratic-held seat currently occupied by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The Supreme Court’s order likely ends the legal battle over which map will be used in the November midterm elections, as ballots are scheduled to be mailed beginning Sept. 19.