The United States Supreme Court declined a request from the Trump administration to implement new congressional district maps in Missouri that would benefit Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. The court issued its decision on Thursday without noting dissents, effectively permitting Missouri to use its existing electoral map for voting scheduled later this year.
The case stems from a protracted dispute over Missouri’s congressional districts that has created significant uncertainty regarding which map voters will use. Earlier in the week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency matters from Missouri, separately rejected another administration request to adopt the new map without referring the matter to the full nine-member court or providing explanation for his action.
The legal conflict involves competing orders from different judicial bodies. A federal judge appointed by Trump issued a directive requiring Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to use only the new Republican-backed districts, while Missouri’s state supreme court previously ordered Hoskins to utilize the districts established after the last census and rejected the new map. The state court subsequently held a contempt hearing against Hoskins for failing to follow its directives, as he had instructed local election officials to use the Trump-backed districts.
Missouri’s new districts were designed to strengthen Republican prospects, particularly targeting a Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver by reconfiguring boundaries to favor Republican candidates. The revised map aims to help Republicans secure seven of the state’s eight House seats, representing a gain of one seat. Missouri became the second Republican-led state, following Texas, to undertake redistricting after Trump encouraged Republicans to redraw House districts ahead of the midterm elections.
Opposition to the new districts prompted residents to collect hundreds of thousands of petition signatures for a statewide referendum, which were submitted in December. Missouri’s Secretary of State delayed rejection of the petition until August, allowing the new districts to be used in the state’s primary election that month. The state supreme court subsequently ruled that the new districts never legally took effect and ordered the redistricting referendum placed on the November ballot.
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