Competing court orders add confusion to Missouri congressional elections
[September 09, 2026]
By DAVID A. LIEB and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dueling court orders eight weeks before
Election Day left Missouri’s congressional map uncertain Tuesday as
legal wrangling over a redistricting plan backed by President Donald
Trump sparked fresh confusion.
A federal judge in Missouri on Tuesday temporarily blocked the state
from using its old congressional districts in the November election. But
that came just moments after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a decision
from the Missouri Supreme Court ordering the old districts to be used
instead of new ones favored by Trump.
The decisions highlight the bewildering nature of Missouri’s
redistricting battle, which has spanned more than a year and leaves
Missouri voters in some parts of the state uncertain which district they
will be in on Election Day.
Missouri's top court ruled last week that the new Trump-backed map
cannot be used because citizens turned in thousands of petition
signatures demanding a statewide vote on it.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal from Missouri’s
Republican attorney general, leaving in place the injunction from
Missouri’s top court. But moments later, U.S. District Judge Stephen
Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order
prohibiting Missouri from using anything other than the new districts
backed by Republicans.
Redistricting opponents quickly filed a notice to appeal that order to
the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The new districts were used in the August primary, and the winners
already were certified by election officials. But the question of which
districts will be used in the November election continues to linger.
Clark's order remains in place for 14 days, allowing time for additional
court proceedings.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said the state “is prepared
to follow and comply with” Clark's order, which she said “binds the
state to using” the new congressional districts.
Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who oversees elections,
described the federal court order as a victory that “halts a full-on
constitutional crisis.” He immediately notified local election officials
that they are required to use the new districts.
But an attorney for People Not Politicians, the group that sponsored the
referendum petition, stressed that the order from Missouri’s top court
against using the new map also remains in effect. The group's leader
filed a request Tuesday night with the state Supreme Court to hold
Hoskins in contempt for attempting to use the new map, and the court
scheduled arguments for Thursday on the request.
“An individual federal judge cannot overrule the Missouri Supreme
Court,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents People Not
Politicians.
Judge says switching maps could 'wreak havoc'
Hanaway has argued it would violate federal rights and cause confusion
to switch districts for voters between the primary and general
elections. Clark agreed in his written order.
“Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the
fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections, calling
into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the
votes of those who voted in the primaries," Clark wrote. "Widespread
voter confusion would inevitably follow.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles cases from
Missouri, did not explain the rationale for declining to take up the
case.
Missouri law set a Tuesday deadline to change the candidates or issues
on the November ballot. But the determination of which ballots voters
receive could take longer. Federal law sets a Sept. 19 deadline to begin
mailing absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military members.
[to top of second column]
|
This photo taken with a smartphone shows Steve Perry, of Kansas
City, holding a sign in opposition to Missouri’s congressional
redistricting plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, outside the state
Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
New Missouri district targets Democrat from Kansas City
Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six
Republicans and two Democrats who were elected under districts that
Republican state officials approved in 2022.
But at Trump’s urging, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called the
Legislature into a special session last year to redraw congressional
boundaries to Republicans' advantage ahead of the midterms.
The revised map targeted the 5th Congressional District, held by
longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It
reassigned portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts
represented by Republicans and stretched the remainder of Cleaver’s
district far eastward into rural Republican areas.
About 59% of the district’s voters were new under the revised map,
according to an Associated Press estimate.
Cleaver, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, praised
Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court action and expressed confidence the old
districts will ultimately be used.
State Sen. Rick Brattin won the Republican primary in the reshaped
district. He joined with Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and other
voters to file the federal lawsuit resulting in Clark's temporary
order. Brattin praised that decision while pledging a continued
campaign.
Missouri's top court said new districts never became law
On the same day as the primary, Hoskins rejected a petition with
thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on
the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution doesn’t allow
a referendum on congressional redistricting. A lower court agreed,
but the state Supreme Court reversed Hoskins’ decision.
The state’s top court said the new districts were retroactively
frozen in December, when the petition signatures were submitted, and
thus never became law. Hoskins on Tuesday assigned the redistricting
referendum as Proposition A on the November ballot, in compliance
with the state court order.
The Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a
referendum can be used for congressional redistricting. But the
state Supreme Court said a constitutional provision allowing a
referendum on “any act” of the Legislature encompasses congressional
redistricting legislation.
Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to
respond to Trump’s call last year to redraw congressional districts.
Several other states followed. All told, Republicans hoped to win as
many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight
states — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee,
Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several
setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new
districts in California and Utah.
It remains to be seen whether the redistricting works as intended
for Republicans. The president’s party historically has lost
congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval
ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.
___
Whitehurst reported from Washington
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
