A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Missouri must use its 2025 congressional map for the November 2026 midterm elections, resolving, at least temporarily, a bitter redistricting fight that has wound through multiple courts. The decision by a three-judge 8th Circuit panel would shift Missouri from a six Republican, two Democrat congressional delegation to a seven Republican, one Democrat split.
“This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution. Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law,” the panel wrote in its per curiam opinion. The panel included Judge James Loken, a Bush 41 appointee, and Judges David Stras and Justin Smith, both appointed by President Trump.
How the Missouri Redistricting Fight Reached This Point
The dispute escalated earlier this month when the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state to use the 2022 map for the midterms and to place a referendum on the 2025 map on the fall ballot. The referendum push, led by the left-leaning group People Not Politicians, had initially been blocked by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.
Chief District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, then issued a temporary restraining order requiring the state to use the 2025 map, a ruling that came shortly after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected an emergency request from state officials to pause the Missouri Supreme Court’s order. The Supreme Court subsequently froze Clark’s restraining order, saying it would remain paused Missouri redistricting court ruling “pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.”
What the 8th Circuit Found on Voter Rights and Standing
The appeals court grounded its decision in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, citing estimates that more than 1.4 million Missourians “could not vote for the congressional district nominees who will appear on their November 2026 general election ballot.” The court also noted that more than 250,000 voters who cast ballots in the August 2026 primary did so for candidates who could no longer represent them under the 2022 map.
“Missouri cannot deprive more than 1.4 million of its residents of their choice in half of that process without violating Article I, Section 2,” the court ruled. Judge Stras filed a partial concurrence and partial dissent, arguing that People Not Politicians and its co-challenger lacked standing and that he “would dismiss the appeal” on those grounds alone.
The Case Heads Back to the Supreme Court
The 8th Circuit directed Judge Clark to issue a permanent injunction requiring Missouri to use the 2025 map, but paused implementation of that order until 5 p.m. on September 28 to allow time for Supreme Court review. People Not Politicians announced Monday evening that it plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court again.
With the general election approaching and multiple courts having reached conflicting conclusions, the final word on which map Missouri will use in November now appears to rest with the justices in Washington.
