What to know about latest Missouri redistricting ruling

… {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"What to know about latest Missouri redistricting ruling\u00a0","description":"The Missouri Supreme Court delivered a last-minute twist in the midterm redistricting saga this week when the predominantly Republican governor-appointed court ruled that new maps passed by state lawmakers to give their party an extra seat couldn’t immediately go into effect.  Instead, the high court said, the coalition looking to temporarily stall the new GOP-favored…","datePublished":"2026-09-04T20:50:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-04T21:35:59+00:00","url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/state-watch\/6072305-missouri-redistricting-latest-news\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/state-watch\/6072305-missouri-redistricting-latest-news\/"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Hill","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/cropped-favicon-512px-1.png","width":512,"height":512}},"author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Caroline Vakil","url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/author\/597201-caroline-vakil\/"}],"alternativeHeadline":"","articleBody":"The Missouri Supreme Court delivered a last-minute twist in the midterm redistricting saga this week when the predominantly Republican governor-appointed court ruled that new maps passed by state lawmakers to give their party an extra seat couldn\u2019t immediately go into effect.\u00a0 Instead, the high court said, the coalition looking to temporarily stall the new GOP-favored 7-1 House map from being used in this year's elections met the requirements to have the new congressional lines put to a referendum in November. That would mean the state would then be using its Republican-leaning 6-2 map in November.  The new ruling injects uncertainty into Missouri\u2019s elections given that the state held its primaries using the new GOP-favored 7-1 House map in last month\u2019s primaries. The Missouri attorney general\u2019s office has already said it intends to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. \u00a0 Here\u2019s a quick rundown on what to know about the latest Missouri redistricting ruling:  The Show Me State has been swept up in a broader redistricting war as Republicans looked to redraw congressional lines across the country to net pickup opportunities ahead of November, with Democrats responding in kind.   Missouri Republicans faced pressure from President Trump and national Republicans to redraw their House map from its current delegation makeup of six Republicans and two Democrats to a new map that could create a 7-1 edge for the GOP. The new map seeks to weaken Rep. Emanuel Cleaver\u2019s (D-Mo.) Kansas City-based seat.  GOP lawmakers passed the new map last fall, prompting opponents to find a way to stall the new lines.  A coalition called People Not Politicians is pushing for a referendum on the November ballot that asks voters whether to approve the new 7-1 House map. But Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) made a late decision that the measure couldn\u2019t be placed on the ballot, arguing the state Constitution doesn\u2019t permit state Legislature-led congressional redistricting to go before voters, among other reasons.\u00a0 The Missouri high court rejected the GOP secretary\u2019s arguments in a notably unanimous 7-0 decision \u2014 five of the justices were appointed by a Republican governor \u2014 by writing, \u201cBecause the referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, [the new House map] never took effect and was referred to the voters as of December 9, 2025.\u201d  \u201cThe congressional districts the General Assembly established in 2022 remain in full force\u00a0and effect for the November 2026 general election, and HB 1 [the new House map] will not take effect unless and until approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election,\u201d the court added.\u00a0 Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) immediately said the state would escalate the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Missouri Supreme Court declined Hoskins\u2019s request to halt the high court\u2019s new ruling on the map as the state makes its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u00a0 The ruling creates some headaches for\u00a0congressional primary winners given that Missouri already held its contests last month and relied on the Republican redistricted maps.\u00a0 People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield suggested the winners of last month\u2019s primaries would head to the general election in November, or that political parties can decide on their own nominees, according to St. Louis Public Radio. \u00a0 The Hill has reached out to Hoskins\u2019s office for guidance on how the ruling impacts the state\u2019s primaries.   The last few states \u2014 New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware \u2014 are wrapping up their primaries this month, with Election Day roughly 60 days out. Undergoing a new primary \u2014 let alone voter education \u2014 could be intensive, costly and challenging.  Missouri Republicans hadn\u2019t officially issued their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court at the time of publication, though observers expect that Republicans will argue that lawmakers have the authority to redistrict under the U.S. Constitution. \u00a0 Several legal experts who spoke to the Missouri Independent say it\u2019s unlikely Republicans will be able to successfully appeal to the country\u2019s highest court. \u00a0 The U.S. Supreme Court declined Virginia Democrats\u2019 appeal in May to have their more Democratic-friendly 9-2 map used in time for the general election after the state\u2019s highest court struck the effort down. Instead, Virginia held its primaries under the current 6-5 Democratic edge House map.  The back-of-the-napkin redistricting math is expected to change little after the Missouri Supreme Court\u2019s ruling, given that Republicans only changed their congressional lines to pick up one seat in the lower chamber.\u00a0 For Democrats, the redistricting ruling is a win because it means Cleaver will likely return to Congress \u2014 his seat went for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 by 23 points. \u00a0 While Republicans have been able to successfully redraw more House seats in their favor in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee compared to Democrats\u2019 expected gains in California and Utah, election forecasts expect Democrats to flip the lower chamber in November.   Decision Desk HQ forecasts that Democrats have a 67 percent chance of taking back the House, compared with a 33 percent chance of Republicans holding it. \u00a0","articleSection":"State Watch","genre":["Campaign","News","State Watch"],"keywords":["Catherine Hanaway","Denny Hoskins","Emanuel Cleaver","Missouri","redistricting","Supreme Court"],"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/missouri_state_flag_capitol_getty.jpg?strip=1","name":"The Missouri state flag is seen flying outside the State Capitol on Jan. 17, 2021, in Jefferson City, Mo. 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