Missouri Supreme Court Blocks Trump-Backed House Map for November

Missouri's Supreme Court unanimously blocked the GOP-drawn congressional map from November's ballot, ordering a voter referendum on the districts.

On Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Republican-drawn congressional map signed into law in September 2025 cannot be used in the November 2026 general election. The court found the referendum petition circulated by People Not Politicians Missouri — backed by roughly 300,000 signatures — was "legal, sufficient, and timely," reversing Secretary of State Denny Hoskins's August declaration that the petition was unconstitutional. The map adopted after the 2020 census remains in force for November.

The ruling is a rare judicial setback in the national mid-decade redistricting push that President Trump urged Republican-led states to undertake to protect their slim House majority. The court's seven judges include five Republican appointees, yet all ruled against the map. The Guardian notes it was one of only a few rulings nationally to go against Republicans' redistricting plans, after the state's high court had already rejected claims that the special session was illegal or the districts unconstitutionally non-compact.

The new map had redrawn the Kansas City-based 5th District, held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, stretching it eastward into rural Republican areas; according to an Associated Press estimate cited by The Guardian, about 59% of the redrawn district's voters were new. The redesigned district would have backed Trump by more than 17 points in 2024, per NBC News, versus Cleaver's roughly 24-point win in his current seat in 2024. The court ordered Hoskins to certify the referendum and place it on the ballot before the state's Sept. 8 deadline.

Republicans had hoped the Missouri map would net an additional House seat as part of a broader effort, spanning more than a dozen states, to gain as many as 10 seats nationally in the midterms. Cleaver declared that "democracy prevails," while People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn said the victory "reaches beyond Missouri" as a signal that citizens can check mid-decade map-drawing. Gov. Wes Moore, citing the parallel Maryland redistricting referendum ruling, called such decisions a defense of letting voters rather than politicians decide how maps are drawn.

Trump denounced the ruling on Truth Social as "horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional," and the Republican National Committee said it is evaluating every option to challenge it, NBC News reports. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway called the decision a "full-fledged constitutional crisis" and said she will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she is seeking an emergency stay. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, NBC News reports, said Democrats are watching whether the U.S. Supreme Court applies the standard it set in a May Virginia case or does "the bidding of the Republican Party."

November's election will proceed under the old 2020-era lines unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, meaning Cleaver will seek re-election in his heavily Democratic district while Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin — who won the August primary in the redrawn 5th — is displaced. Hanaway told KMBC she would comply with the old map if appeals fail, but expects new lawsuits from primary winners. Brattin criticized the confusion for the roughly 25,000 voters who backed him in August and said he plans legal action. The court also ordered a separate Amendment 6, strengthening Missouri's initiative and referendum process, onto the November ballot.