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Supreme Court Blocks Missouri's New Republican-Favored Congressional Map
Confirmed
In Short: The Supreme Court halted Missouri's new congressional map intended to give Republicans an additional seat in the House of Representatives.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted a request to prevent Missouri from using a new congressional map that would have favored Republicans in November’s elections. The court’s decision came after Missouri’s Republican secretary of state ordered local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map instead of the one backed by President Donald Trump.
The court’s action means Missouri will run the general election with a different congressional map than was used in the primary. Missouri’s Republican secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, had been using the 2022 map despite a federal judge’s ruling that the new map should not be used.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway argued that changing the congressional map between the primary and general elections is unjust to Missouri voters. She stated, “We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters.”
The dispute over the congressional map is part of a broader effort by Missouri Republicans to redraw districts in ways that could benefit Republican candidates. This effort has repeatedly drawn the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has issued several rulings limiting the reach of the Voting Rights Act.
In addition to the redistricting dispute, the Trump administration has appealed a dispute over President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting to the Supreme Court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit has already declined to allow the Trump administration to implement a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would tighten mail-in voting requirements before November’s congressional elections.
What's confirmed
- Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith has the latest on the key storylines shaping the race to the 2026 midterm elections, including the political fallout from the Supreme Court's Missouri redistricting decision, the battle for control of Congress, and the issues driving voters as both parties intensify their push toward November on 'Special Report.' The Missouri Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it was considering holding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt amid an escalating battle over proposed congressional maps.
What's still developing
- The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further fan inflation concerns and exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit.
- Hoskins must appear in court Thursday to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt for instructing election officials to use the 2025 congressional map despite an injunction barring its use.
- A major Supreme Court ruling limiting the reach of the landmark Voting Rights Act and subsequent actions by the court permitted several conservative Southern states to eliminate districts with significant Black populations, allowing Republicans to eventually emerge as the winners of an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting war.
- Kavanaugh issued his ruling because he handles urgent matters arising in the 8th Circuit, which includes Missouri.
- Missouri officials could ask another justice for relief, but such requests are almost never granted.
- Steve Perry, of Kansas City, holds a sign in opposition to Missouri’s congressional redistricting plan on Sept.