“For the third time this month, the Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s bid for one more Republican-leaning congressional district,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“With no dissents, the justices upheld a state court order requiring the use of a 2022 election map, which favors Republicans in six of the eight districts.”
NBC News: Supreme Court for the third time rejects Republican redistricting push in Missouri.
“The legal drama over Missouri’s congressional districts reached the Supreme Court for a third time on Tuesday night, setting up the justices to deliver the final word on which map the state will use in the midterms,” the Washington Sun reports.
“The fight over Missouri’s congressional map returned to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time late Tuesday, after an appeals court ordered the revival of new districts backed by President Donald Trump,” the Associated Press reports.
“The new map was drawn to help Republicans gain a U.S. House seat in the pivotal midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. The Supreme Court has twice blocked efforts to use it in November.”
New York Times: Dispute over Missouri’s congressional map again returns to Supreme Court.
“A federal appeals court reinstated Missouri Republicans’ 7-1 House map to be used in time for the November elections, delivering a boost for several GOP candidates who wanted a more favorable map for the party to be used in the midterm elections,” The Hill reports.
“The ruling offers a temporary victory for Republicans who are looking to add pickup opportunities in the House ahead of November, though the decision is all but certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“A Trump administration proposal to exclude some types of immigrants from the 2030 census might not expand the congressional map for Republicans, and could even result in fewer House seats in red states,” the New York Times reports.
“If congressional seats were redistributed based on recent census figures, excluding undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens without green cards could cause Texas to lose a congressional seat it would otherwise have gained.”
“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.
The Atlantic: “Missouri jumped last year into the nation’s redistricting wars, pushing through a new congressional map backed by President Trump that would secure an additional Republican House seat in November. The plan has mostly collapsed, leading to a year of legal fights and confusion for voters. The partisan battle reached the Supreme Court last week and spurred a chaotic back-and-forth among the courts that changed the boundaries multiple times within a single hour.”
“For now, the old map, which was adopted in 2022, is back in effect, but Republican candidates are still battling. A hearing in a federal appeals court is set for tomorrow—one day before the state is required to start making absentee ballots available to overseas voters.”
“The mayhem in Missouri is the latest example of how uncertain and volatile the midterm elections have become.”
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Missouri reverting to its old House districts for 2026 slightly lessens the overall GOP improvement on the national House map, although the map is still more favorable to them than the map in place for 2024 was.”
“A state-by-state scorecard based on our House ratings shows the Republicans gaining between 2 to 6 seats from redistricting this cycle, although there is potential for the final tally to end up somewhere outside of that range.”
Wall Street Journal: “As the high-stakes midterm elections approach, battles over redistricting and voting are intensifying nationwide. Republicans are trying to keep control of Congress, amid voter frustration with prices and an unpopular war with Iran. Democrats are seeking to gain majorities and restrain President Trump.”
“Nowhere has the fallout been greater than in Missouri, a heartland state that has large rural areas dominated by conservative Republicans—but also has urban areas, including St. Louis and Kansas City, dominated by Democrats.”
“Last year, at Trump’s urging, the GOP-led Missouri legislature redrew the state congressional boundaries mid-decade to benefit Republicans. Cleaver’s district, which for years centered on much of Kansas City and its suburbs, was set to include a swath of rural Missouri, making his chances of re-election much harder.”
“But a grassroots petition drive and legal challenges halted the plan. The Missouri Supreme Court recently ruled the state must hold a public referendum before changing district lines. Republican appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court failed, meaning the original 2022 congressional maps will be on the ballot in November—although Republicans are still trying legal strategies to change that.”
“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.”
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.
