Missouri Supreme Court blocks GOP congressional map from November elections

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's newly redrawn Republican congressional map cannot be used in November 2026 elections. The court determined that a citizen referendum petition with over 300,000 signatures was valid and must be placed on the ballot, returning the state to its post-2020 district lines for the fall election.

The ruling is a rare defeat for Republican redistricting efforts and upends the GOP strategy to flip at least one congressional seat in November. Republicans had hoped Missouri's new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold on to their slim House majority in the midterms, per Guardian reporting.

The Missouri Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision stating, per the Guardian, "The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise." The court added, "The legislation containing the new districts did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters." As a result, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election, the court wrote.

Republicans had redrawn the state's fifth congressional district in a special legislative session last year at President Donald Trump's urging. Governor Mike Kehoe called lawmakers into session to dramatically reconfigure the district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The redesigned fifth district was drawn to include new rural Republican areas, with about 59 percent of the district's voters being new under the revised map, per Guardian reporting. Republican state senator Rick Brattin won the August primary in the reshaped district, while Cleaver, unopposed in the Democratic primary, ran in the old seat and won his nomination. According to NBC News, Cleaver won by almost 24 percentage points in 2024 under the old boundaries, while the redesigned fifth district was drawn so Trump would have won by more than 17 points in 2024.

Opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures in December seeking to put the map to a voter referendum, according to Guardian reporting. 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 initially agreed with Hoskins, but the state Supreme Court overturned that decision on Thursday. Judge Ginger K. Gooch wrote in the ruling, per NBC News, that Hoskins and those acting with him "are restrained and enjoined from implementing, using, or mandating the use of the congressional redistricting in HB 1 for the November 2026 general election or at any other time thereafter unless and until HB 1 is approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election and takes effect 30 days thereafter."

The court rejected the argument, made by attorneys representing Hoskins and Republican party committees, that it was too close to the general election to revert to the prior districts without causing confusion and chaos. The Missouri constitution does not explicitly state whether a referendum petition can be used for congressional redistricting, per Guardian reporting, but the court ruled that a constitutional provision allowing a referendum on "any act" of the legislature encompasses congressional redistricting. The last time Missouri's map was considered by voter referendum was in 1922, after a Republican-led legislature redrew districts; voters rejected that map in 1922, according to NBC News.

Emmanuel Cleaver, the Democratic incumbent, stated per NBC News, "More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress. Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won. Democracy prevails." Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, the advocacy group that gathered signatures, told reporters per Guardian reporting, "The Missouri constitution says what it says, and those words matter. 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."

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, immediately announced plans to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hanaway wrote, per NBC News, "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 added, per NBC News, "We are confident that the federal courts will not allow every Missouri voter to be disenfranchised, which is what today's decision does." Governor Mike Kehoe stated on X, per Guardian reporting, "We are extremely disappointed in today's decision by unelected judges and their lack of respect for the legislative process."

President Trump criticized the ruling on Truth Social, calling it "horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional" and a "Dark Day for 'Justice' in Missouri." Trump wrote, per NBC News, "The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America! Missouri must be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the Primary." The Republican National Committee blasted the ruling, with Election Integrity Communications Director Ally Triolo stating, per NBC News, "The RNC is evaluating every option to challenge this decision, and we will not stop fighting for Missouri voters."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., celebrated the decision, per NBC News, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court's May decision to uphold a Virginia Supreme Court decision that did away with a voter-approved congressional map that would have expanded Democratic-leaning districts. Jeffries wrote, per NBC News, "We are watching closely to determine if they apply the same standard here, or choose to do the bidding of the Republican Party again." Von Glahn stated, per Guardian reporting, "This victory reaches beyond Missouri. In a year when map-drawing has become a national weapon, courts across the country are watching what happens here. A Missouri win for the referendum is a signal that the people still hold the power."

Trump's quest for a midterm election advantage triggered an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle that spread to more than a dozen states and triggered a dozen lawsuits in Missouri alone, per Guardian reporting. Republicans had hoped to net as many as 10 additional seats nationally through mid-decade redistricting, according to Guardian reporting. The Missouri Supreme Court ruling was one of only a few nationally to go against Republicans' redistricting plans. Prior to its latest ruling, Missouri's top court had rejected claims that the special session was illegal, mid-decade redistricting is not allowed, and the new districts are not compact enough, per Guardian reporting.