People gather at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, to protest the Legislature’s efforts to change the state’s congressional district maps.
Tammy Yungblad | Kansas City Star | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday blocked new congressional maps drawn by Republicans from being used in November’s midterm elections, dealing a blow to the party’s chances of retaining a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The ruling could allow longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to return to the House after his Kansas City-based district was dismantled under redrawn maps.
The court found that the state’s Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had wrongly rejected efforts to put voters on the ballot before the new maps went into effect.
Republican lawmakers were installing the new maps as part of a broader campaign backed by President Donald Trump to redraw district lines to favor the party’s candidates.
Some Democratic states responded with their own redistricting plans. But Republicans ultimately gained the upper hand after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed several conservative southern states to eliminate districts with large black populations.
