The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s new congressional map cannot be used in this year’s midterm elections, dealing a blow to Republicans. The court ruled that a referendum on whether the state can use the map in the future must be placed on the November ballot, meaning Missouri’s fall elections will be held under its previous district boundaries. The new map was designed to remove one of Missouri’s two Democrats in Congress, veteran Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, from his seat. “More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress. Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won,” Cleaver said in a post on X after the ruling, adding that “democracy prevails.” He defended him. Missouri redrew its congressional map in 2025 at the urging of President Donald Trump. In response, People Not Politicians Missouri gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force a veto referendum. And although the group exceeded signature requirements to appear on the ballot, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to certify it, saying it was unconstitutional. The group appealed to the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the matter Wednesday. The ruling comes just days before the Sept. 8 deadline for the state to finalize its voting for the general election. The state held its August primary election using the map drawn by Republicans. Judge Ginger K. Gooch wrote in her ruling that Hoskins and those acting with him “are restricted from and prohibited from implementing, using, or requiring the use of congressional redistricting in HB 1 for the November 2026 general election or at any time thereafter, unless and until HB 1 is approved by voters in the November 2026 general election and takes effect 30 days later.” The court’s decision means Cleaver will now seek re-election to his old seat, which has a heavily Democratic bias. He won by nearly 24 percentage points in 2024. The redrawn Fifth District, which was overturned by Thursday’s ruling, was drawn so that Trump would have won by more than 17 points in 2024. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway vowed in a statement after the ruling to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. federal law and has thrust our state into a full-blown constitutional crisis,” Hanaway wrote. “We are confident that the federal courts will not allow all Missouri voters to be disenfranchised, which is what today’s decision does.” People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard von Glahn welcomed the ruling. “This victory goes beyond Missouri. In a year when mapping has become a national weapon, courts across the country are watching what happens here. A Missouri victory in the referendum is a sign that the people still have the power,” von Glahn said in a statement. Missouri is one of a handful of Republican-led states that undertook redistricting efforts in the mid-decade at Trump’s behest to shore up the party’s narrow majority in the House. Trump criticized the ruling in a Truth Social post, calling it “horrible, ridiculous and unconstitutional.” “The electoral process, as always, is being disrupted in the United States. United! “Missouri should be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the primaries,” Trump wrote. The last time one of the state’s maps was considered in a voter referendum was in 1922, after the Republican-led state Legislature redrawn districts. Voters then rejected the new map.
