“The U.S. Supreme Court again rejected a push to use Missouri congressional maps backed by President Donald Trump on Thursday, a loss for Republicans trying to maintain control of the House in the fast-approaching midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.
“The decision appears to clear the way for use of the old maps.”
“A group seeking to block Missouri from using a new congressional map that favors Republicans in November’s midterm elections has asked the Supreme Court to intervene,” the Washington Post reports.
”The appeal is the latest twist in an extraordinary legal fight that has plunged the state into electoral confusion just as it was supposed to finalize ballots and shortly before it begins distributing mail-in versions to voters.”
Reuters: Fight over Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri returns to U.S. Supreme Court.
“Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice W. Brent Powell has ordered Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to explain why he should not be held in contempt as a legal battle continues over the state’s congressional map,” KMBC reports.
“Conflicting court orders issued on the same day threw the congressional elections in Missouri into chaos on Tuesday, two months before an election in which a handful of races could decide control of the House,” the New York Times reports.
“First, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh denied a request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn to give Republicans an edge in the midterm elections.”
“Soon after, a District Court judge in Missouri ruled the other way, ordering the state to rely on that map, which had been used in last month’s primary election.”
“Taken together, the dueling court orders left Missouri where it began, with no agreement about which congressional map should be in effect in November and no immediate route to resolving that question.”
“Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday refused to lift a block on Missouri’s new congressional map, which was poised to give Republicans a pickup opportunity in November,” The Hill reports.
“Missouri officials held their primaries using Republicans’ new 7-1 House map, but the decision means the Show Me State must revert to its existing GOP-favored 6-2 House map for the November election.”
“The dueling use of maps raises questions around how the state will pick primary winners ahead of November with less than 60 days before the election.”
“Sixteen years ago, Republicans in Wisconsin rode a national wave of discontent to wrest control of the legislature in Madison. Then they approved maps that locked in their power, even after Democrats took back nearly every statewide office,” the New York Times reports.
“This November, Democrats have a chance to do what seemed implausible a few short years ago: take control of the State Assembly and Senate while holding onto the governor’s mansion.”
“Republicans’ are growing increasingly worried their mid-decade gerrymandering push isn’t going to save their House majority,” Politico reports.
“The norm-breaking plan hatched by the White House last summer to draw new maps to protect the party from an unfavorable midterm environment is not on track to bear the fruits they hoped it would. Two months out from Election Day, Republicans are sweating races they thought they would win comfortably when they redrew district boundaries.”
“Missouri appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to allow the use of new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump in the fast-approaching midterm election,” Associated Press reports.
“The appeal comes after Missouri’s highest court blocked the new map and ordered a statewide vote in November on whether to keep or reject it.”
“The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state can’t use redrawn congressional districts that could have benefited Republicans in November’s midterm elections, and voters must decide if they should be used in future elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The unanimous decision was a blow to Republicans who were hoping to gain one U.S. House seat with the redrawn map in the midterms. Around the country, both parties have been changing congressional maps hoping to gain an advantage in the House.”
“The Maryland Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Democrats’ much-debated redistricting amendment to appear on ballots in November,” NOTUS reports.
“Voters will decide whether to change the state constitution to allow lawmakers to draw legislative and congressional districts without facing stringent compactness standards in the future — marking a win for state Democrats who passed the amendment last month.”
A Maryland judge ruled that Maryland lawmakers “failed to follow state election law in putting a proposed congressional redistricting amendment before voters, and ordered it blocked from the November ballot,” Baltimore Sun reports.
“A Missouri judge has allowed new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump to be used in the November elections, rejecting a bid by to put the Republican-friendly districts to a statewide vote of the people,” the Associated Press reports.
“The ruling Wednesday by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green is a victory for Republicans seeking to hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. House. But the case is likely to end up in the state Supreme Court.”
“The star of Tuesday’s primaries is President Donald Trump’s adopted home state, where outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to redraw congressional maps,” Semafor reports.
“With that, DeSantis fired the starting gun for ambitious Republicans to seek new safe-looking seats, simultaneously retiring Tampa- and Orlando-area Democrats who are now competing for Trump-won districts. The remapping also set off two bitter Democratic primaries in South Florida, where pro-Israel Democrats are facing progressive challengers.”
“Somehow, the strangest race in the state has been unaffected; it’s a competition for a deep-red seat where most of the leading candidates moved in recently from Illinois, New York, or North Carolina.”
“Republicans aiming to flip Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after redrawing the heavily Black district in their favor will pick their nominee Tuesday to challenge U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, the Democratic incumbent who is seeking a second term despite the political headwinds,” the Associated Press reports.
“The district is one of several Democratic-leaning districts across the South that were reshaped to favor Republicans following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act.”
“Democratic turnout for House primaries in a majority-Black Tennessee county surged to the highest level in a decade Thursday, the latest sign that redistricting may be energizing Black voters across the South,” the Washington Post reports.
”A fifth of active registered voters cast a ballot in three Democratic U.S. House primaries held Thursday in Shelby County, which includes Memphis. That’s more than double the turnout percentage for similar contests in 2024.”
“Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, is accusing Gov. Wes Moore of backing an amendment to the state constitution that could eliminate his district through redistricting, arguing that the push is driven by the governor’s alleged presidential ambitions,” Fox News reports.
“The amendment, if approved by voters in November, would give the Democratic-controlled General Assembly far greater latitude to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 election.”
“Democratic turnout for House primaries in a majority-Black Tennessee county surged to the highest level in a decade, the latest sign that redistricting may be energizing Black voters across the South,” the Washington Post reports.
“Maryland lawmakers took a first step toward redrawing their congressional map during a special session on Tuesday, passing a constitutional amendment that could open the door for Democrats to pick up the only Republican seat in the state’s nine-member congressional delegation ahead of 2028,” NOTUS reports.
NBC News: Democrats put redistricting amendment on Maryland’s midterm ballot.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.