Supreme Court blocks GOP-favored Missouri map again, restores old district lines

WASHINGTON, DC: On Friday, the Supreme Court stopped Missouri Republicans from using the congressional map they wanted for November’s midterms. That’s the third time in three weeks the redistricting fight has landed in front of the justices, and the third time Republicans came up short. Now, Missouri has to go back to its previous congressional boundaries for the upcoming general election.

Last year, Republicans pushed through a new 7-1 map and already used it in their August primaries, planning to boost their chances of winning another House seat in the fall. But the court's unsigned opinion shut that plan down for now.

Supreme Court blocks GOP-favored Missouri map

The justices halted a federal appeals court ruling that would have revived the Republican-friendly map for the November elections, which will determine control of Congress. There were no noted dissents.

The Supreme Court instead let stand a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that a citizen petition prevents the new map from being used unless first approved by voters in a November referendum.

The decision means Missouri residents will vote under the same congressional districts used in the 2024 and 2022 elections.

“At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the high court wrote in an unsigned opinion.

“The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.”

Chaos really took off earlier this month when Missouri’s highest court decided that voters should have the final say on the new congressional map.

That meant the controversial 7-1 map couldn’t kick in until people actually approved it at the polls. But the state had already used that map to run its primaries.

So, several Republican congressional candidates rushed into federal court, arguing it’d be unconstitutional to go back to the old map this late in the game.

The Supreme Court had already stepped in, pulling back the judge’s previous order, sending a clear message that Republicans had probably missed their chance to redraw districts for November.

Missouri redistricting fight creates election uncertainty

Republicans had hoped the new House map, which already was used in the August primaries, could help them win an additional seat as part of a nationwide redistricting battle pushed by Trump to gain an edge in the midterms.

A panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled Monday that switching districts between the primary and general elections would violate the US Constitution.

The panel directed a district judge to bar Missouri from using anything other than the new map but delayed the order’s effect until next Monday to allow time for an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Republican Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins described the high court’s decision as “a disappointing blow to representative democracy,” but added, “I appreciate the final clarity.”

The legal battles have left candidates and voters scrambling to figure out their districts, especially with the election just weeks away.

Still, when you look at the bigger picture, the impact on national redistricting is small, as Republicans were only aiming to flip one seat in Missouri.

Yet, these constant returns to the Supreme Court show just how heated and uncertain redistricting has gotten, especially in a midterm year when the fight for control of the House is so close.