A Cole County Circuit Court judge in Missouri has upheld new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump, ruling that they may be used in November elections. The decision rejected an attempt to force a statewide referendum on the redrawn districts, which had already been used in August primaries.
Judge Daniel Green sided with Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and other Republicans defending the map. In his ruling, Green wrote that Missouri’s Constitution does not authorize a referendum process for congressional redistricting authority. However, opponents of the redistricting plan announced they plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court. Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, stated that the case would ultimately be decided at the state level.
The redistricting effort followed a special legislative session called by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe after President Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries. Missouri’s revised districts were designed to strengthen Republican representation, particularly targeting Democratic U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district. The new boundaries reassign portions of Kansas City to neighboring Republican districts and extend Cleaver’s district eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas, with approximately 59 percent of voters new to the redrawn district.
Atorneys for the state’s Republican leadership argued that congressional redistricting is a legislative duty not subject to referendum without specific constitutional permission. They also contended that switching district boundaries after the primary would cause voter confusion and undermine election integrity. The judge agreed that changing districts post-primary would violate federal law.
Missouri’s redistricting effort has generated substantial litigation, with approximately a dozen lawsuits filed over the past year. The state was the second to respond to Trump’s redistricting initiative, following Texas. Republicans nationally hope to gain as many as 16 additional seats from new maps enacted in eight states, while Democrats anticipate potential gains in California and Utah.
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