The United States Supreme Court declined to reinstate Missouri's Republican-backed congressional map on Tuesday, leaving the older map in place for the November midterm elections. The emergency ruling from Justice Brett Kavanaugh set off a fresh round of court action in Missouri, where a federal judge then temporarily blocked use of the older map.
That matters now because Missouri has less than two months before Election Day, and the maps will determine who runs in districts that could decide control of the US House of Representatives. The Republican-backed plan would have carved up Missouri's 5th congressional district, the seat now held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver and centered on much of Kansas City, giving the GOP a better chance at an extra seat.
The dispute began with a map approved by Missouri Republicans in 2025, and the state has already held its party primaries under that plan. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously said voters must approve the map in a statewide referendum before it can be used, a ruling that cut against Missouri Republicans in the middle of an already tight election calendar. On Tuesday, Kavanaugh rejected Missouri's request to let the new map take effect and did not send the matter to the full nine-member court or explain why.
That was not the end of the fight. In the hours after Kavanaugh's decision, US District Judge Stephen Clark ordered Missouri to use the new Republican-backed map for the November midterms and said his order would remain in effect for 14 days while courts consider the dispute. Opponents of the map have already appealed, and they argue that Missouri's Republican officials dismissed a referendum petition they had backed with hundreds of thousands of signatures too late for a meaningful challenge before the primary.
For now, Missouri is caught between two commands: the Supreme Court's refusal to revive the new map and a federal court order telling the state to use it anyway. The practical answer is not settled yet, but the deadline is. Unless the courts move quickly, Missouri voters and candidates will head toward Election Day under a legal cloud that could still force another change before ballots are set.
