U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected Missouri Republicans’ emergency appeal on Tuesday, leaving in place a state court order that blocks the GOP-drawn congressional map for the 2026 elections and requires voters to decide the redistricting plan’s fate in November.
The decision marks a rare defeat for Republicans in the nationwide mid-decade redistricting battle ahead of the midterms. Kavanaugh issued no explanation for his ruling, nor did he refer the matter to the full court, effectively ending the GOP’s last-minute legal push to use the new map in the general election.
The conflict over Missouri’s congressional districts began in summer 2025, when President Trump pressured Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session to redraw the state’s map. Republican lawmakers, led by U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, sought to increase GOP-held seats from six to seven by reshaping the Kansas City-based 5th District, currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The Missouri Senate approved the new map by a 21-11 vote in September 2025.
But the plan immediately faced a legal challenge. A political action committee called People Not Politicians gathered over 300,000 signatures to place a referendum on the ballot, invoking Missouri’s constitutional right to voter veto of legislation. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled last week that the referendum must appear on the November ballot as Proposition A, blocking the new map from use in the general election.
The timing created chaos. Missouri held its primary election in August under the 2025 GOP-drawn map, meaning some candidates campaigned in districts that would no longer exist if voters rejected the map in November. Republican officials argued the state faced “disaster” and “unprecedented chaos” by switching maps between the primary and general election. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the situation was unprecedented and irreparably harmful to candidates and voters.
Kavanaugh’s decision to deny the stay application suggested he was not persuaded by those arguments. The justices rarely overturn state courts’ decisions on matters like referendum procedures. Democrats countered that any election confusion was intentionally created by Republican officials, who delayed decisions on the redistricting referendum in hopes of running out the clock on judicial review.
The Supreme Court’s ruling does not end the redistricting fight in Missouri. Hours after Kavanaugh’s decision, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, appointed by Trump in 2019, issued a conflicting order temporarily blocking the state from using the 2022 map and requiring use of the 2025 GOP-drawn map for the November election. Clark argued that candidates who campaigned under the new districts deserved consistency and that voters should not be disenfranchised by a map change between elections. The dueling orders left Missouri election officials uncertain which map to follow, with Attorney General Catherine Hanaway initially announcing compliance with Clark’s federal court order.
The Missouri redistricting battle reflects a broader national pattern. Beginning in 2025, several Republican-led states sought to redraw congressional maps mid-decade after a Supreme Court decision in April 2026 struck down a Louisiana congressional map, opening the door for aggressive redistricting efforts. Texas, Alabama, and other states have pursued similar mid-decade redraws. Missouri’s case is notable because it combines state constitutional law—the referendum process—with federal election administration concerns, creating an unusually complex legal landscape.
Voters will decide the map’s future on November 3, when Proposition A appears on the ballot alongside the general election. If voters reject the GOP-drawn map, Missouri will use the 2022 boundaries, preserving the current six-Republican, two-Democrat delegation. If approved, the new map could flip the 5th District and expand Republican representation in the state.
Sources
- Missouri Independent — Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s rejection of the GOP appeal, the conflicting federal court order, and details of the redistricting timeline and political actors.
- Politico — Kavanaugh’s decision, the state Supreme Court ruling, and context on the national redistricting battle and Trump’s involvement.
- The Washington Post — The Supreme Court’s block on the GOP-drawn map and its significance as a rare Republican defeat in redistricting wars.
- PBS NewsHour — The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling requiring a referendum and the state’s constitutional process for voter veto of legislation.
