The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously blocked the creation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s favored congressional maps and restored the state’s previous electoral districts ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Thursday’s ruling was an unusual judicial rebuke to Trump in the national battle over redistricting. But this is unlikely to be the final decision in the case, as Republican officials have already vowed to appeal the ruling.
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At the center of the lawsuit is a congressional map signed into law in September 2025 designed to help Republicans pick up additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this year.
But the partisan redistricting effort sparked a public backlash, with nearly 300,000 Missourians signing a petition to put new maps on the ballot instead.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition as legally insufficient. This started a legal battle, which the Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
“While the referendum petition was lawful, sufficient, and timely, the Director erroneously concluded that this was not the case,” the court wrote in its decision.
He added that the Missouri Constitution legalizes such petitions and “no exceptions apply.” The court has seven judges, five of whom are Republican appointees.
But this decision leaves Missouri in a complicated position. There are only two months left until the midterm elections, and ballots will be printed soon.
There are also unresolved legal questions surrounding whether a state’s general election can use different congressional districts than its primary.
Missouri Attorney General Katherine Hanaway (R) said she would immediately appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. She called Thursday’s decision “a full-blown constitutional crisis.”
“Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary election and before a general election,” he said in a statement.
President Trump also condemned the ruling in a social media post, calling it “horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional.”
“The Missouri Supreme Court has made an absurd decision in favor of restoring maps to what they were called ‘ancient history,'” he wrote.
Last year, President Trump asked the Texas state legislature to redraw the state’s maps in favor of Republicans, sparking a national redistricting battle.
Congressional maps are typically redrawn once every 10 years to reflect census results.
But President Trump encouraged Republican-led states to issue new maps in mid-decade as a strategy for right-wing parties to maintain control of the House.
In the end, about 10 states, including Missouri, decided to redistrict. Most were leaning toward the Republican Party. Meanwhile, California redrawn its maps to skew the Democratic Party.
Prior to Thursday’s ruling, the Missouri Supreme Court found that special legislative action to change the state’s congressional map was legal. In the United States, there is no federal law prohibiting partisan redistricting, known as gerrymandering.
However, Thursday’s decision upheld the legality of the petition drive to post maps for voting.
The Missouri Supreme Court has barred the 2025 map from being used in November’s midterm elections or any future elections until Missouri voters first approve it.
The ‘People Not Politicians’ group spearheaded the referendum petition. In a statement Thursday, the state praised the state court’s decision to overturn the lower court’s ruling.
“The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that Missourians will vote on maps rigged by politicians,” the group wrote on social media.
He also blamed the Missouri Secretary of State for any obstacles in restoring the old maps.
“Mr. Hoskins had the power to prevent this disruption months ago, but chose not to,” the group said.
The day before the court’s decision, several hundred people gathered outside the state Supreme Court, chanting “Vote!”
Grant Christensen, a Jefferson City resident and referendum supporter, said he signed the petition.
“Gerrymandering is the same as voter suppression,” Christensen said. “It’s not fair to divide districts to get people to vote one way or the other.”
Missouri’s 2025 congressional map already shaped the state’s primary elections. But critics point out that Hoskins did not reject the referendum until Aug. 4, the day of the party’s primary.
The outcome of the legal battle is likely to be most important for Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, currently held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. His district, which includes part of Kansas City, was redistricted to favor Republicans.
