The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously blocked new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map.
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Court → block → map
The decision on Thursday (September 3, 2026) marks a rare setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle that Mr. Trump urged GOP-run states to launch last year.
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Trump → mark → states
Republicans had hoped Missouri's new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in the midterms.
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them → hop → midterms
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that the decision “has thrust our State into a full-fledged Constitutional crisis.”
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decision → say → crisis
Missouri's new districts were used in the August primaries.
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districts → use → primaries
But the state Supreme Court said they cannot be used in the November general election — or ever again, unless voters first uphold the new districts passed by the Republican-led Legislature.
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voters → say → Legislature
Ruling says referendum petition was legal and timely
The court ruled that the new districts were effectively placed on hold in December, when opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures seeking to put the map to a vote of the people.
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opponents → say → people
Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until primary election day in August to reject the petition.
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Hoskins → wait → petition
He asserted that the referendum process cannot be used for congressional redistricting.
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process → assert → redistricting
A lower court agreed, but the Supreme Court overturned Hoskins' decision.
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Court → agree → decision
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the court said in its ruling.
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court → conclude → ruling
The legislation containing the new districts “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.”
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legislation → contain → voters
As a result, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census “remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election.”
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map → adopt → election
Hanaway, whose office represented Hoskins, called the ruling an unprecedented violation of federal law.
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office → represent → law
So did Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, who proposed the new congressional map to lawmakers.
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who → do → lawmakers
“Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election,” Hanaway said in a statement.
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Hanaway → overturn → statement
Mr. Trump weighed in via his Truth Social platform, saying the Missouri justices had “ridiculously ruled in favour of changing the maps back to what they were a long time ago” — meaning before state lawmakers changed them last September.
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lawmakers → weigh → them
“The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America!” Mr. Trump continued, echoing the argument that the process should not be upended so close to the general election.
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process → disturb → election
Separately, however, Mr. Trump is pushing to restrict mail balloting around the country with new rules that could upend a voting process that has already begun ahead of November and is used by about one-third of the nation's voters.
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that → push → voters
Court ruling hinged on referendum rights
The Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum petition can be used for a congressional redistricting law passed by the Legislature.
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petition → hinge → Legislature
But the Supreme Court ruled that a Constitutional provision allowing a referendum on “any act” of the Legislature encompasses congressional redistricting.
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provision → rule → redistricting
It rejected assertions from Hanaway's office that federal law prohibits referendum petitions on congressional redistricting.
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law → reject → redistricting
“This is what democracy looks like,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, which sponsored the referendum petition.
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which → look → petition
“The people of Missouri demanded a voice, and the court just confirmed what we've been saying all along.
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we → demand → what
People, not politicians, will have the final say.”
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People → have → say
Hoskins, acknowledging the loss, vowed to continue “the war to preserve our Constitutional republic.”
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Hoskins → acknowledge → republic
The ruling, which capped a year of political manoeuvring and legal wrangling, was one of two to go against Republican officials Thursday.
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which → cap → officials
The Supreme Court also ruled that Hoskins had wrongly rejected a petition for a ballot proposal, making it difficult for politicians to change measures enacted by voters through citizen initiatives.
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politicians → rule → initiatives
The court also ordered that measure to be placed on the November ballot.
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measure → order → ballot
Missouri redistricting targeted longtime Kansas City lawmaker
Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House.
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Missouri → target → House
After Mr. Trump urged Republicans to redraw congressional districts to their advantage, Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session last year to dramatically reconfigure the 5th Congressional District, held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
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Kehoe → urge → Cleaver
Cleaver, who was unopposed in the August primary, has carried the Kansas City-based district with at least 60% of the vote in each of the past two elections.
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who → carry → elections
Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won an August primary in the reshaped 5th Congressional District, which had been stretched eastward to include rural Republican areas.
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which → win → areas
About 59% of the district's voters were new under the revised map, according to an Associated Press estimate.
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% → revise → estimate
Cleaver had not posted campaign signs in many of the new rural areas, explaining that he was waiting for the Missouri Supreme Court's decision.
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he → post → decision
But he had vowed to continue his reelection campaign regardless of the outcome.
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he → vow → outcome
“Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbours, the people fought back and won,” Cleaver said in a social media post Thursday (September 3).
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Cleaver → silence → post
Mr. Brattin, a Marine veteran and founding member of the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus in the state Legislature, said the decision disenfranchises thousands of primary voters who will now be shifted to different districts with candidates they didn't get to choose.
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they → found → candidates
The court “handed Democrats a decision they desperately needed in their effort to help national Democrats retake the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mr. Brattin said in a statement.
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Brattin → hand → statement
Redistricting battle spread to over a quarter of states
Congressional districts typically are redrawn at the start of each decade, based on new census data.
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districts → spread → data
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
