Missouri will return to its previous congressional districts for the November election after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday rejected the state’s last attempt to use new boundaries drawn to give Republicans a chance to gain another U.S. House seat.
The decision leaves intact the Kansas City-based district represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, one of Missouri’s two Black members of Congress. The state’s other Democratic-held district, represented by Wesley Bell in the St. Louis area, was largely unchanged by the new map.
Republicans hold six of Missouri’s eight congressional seats. The boundaries approved by the Republican-controlled legislature last year were intended to make Cleaver’s district more favorable to the GOP, potentially giving Republicans a seventh seat.
Kavanaugh denied an emergency request to put on hold a unanimous Missouri Supreme Court ruling that said the new map could not be used unless voters approve it in November. He gave no reason for his decision and did not refer the request to the full U.S. Supreme Court.
The immediate result is unusual: Missouri held its Aug. 4 congressional primaries using the new districts but will conduct the Nov. 3 general election under the map used in 2022 and 2024.
The dispute stems from an effort by opponents of the new map to put it before voters. They submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures in December seeking a statewide referendum.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition Aug. 4, arguing that congressional redistricting could not be challenged through Missouri’s referendum process.
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously disagreed last week. It ruled that the state constitution allows voters to challenge acts of the General Assembly through referendum and that the petition seeking a vote on the congressional map was valid and submitted on time.
Because of the referendum, the court concluded, the new congressional boundaries never legally took effect. It ordered Hoskins to conduct the November congressional election using the previous map.
Missouri officials asked Kavanaugh to intervene, arguing that changing district boundaries after the primary would create election problems and leave some voters choosing among candidates they had no opportunity to nominate.
Opponents countered that the 2022 map remained the legally valid map and that state election officials had created much of the timing problem by waiting until Aug. 4 to reject the referendum petition.
Kavanaugh’s decision came as Missouri reached its deadline Tuesday for finalizing the November ballot, according to the Missouri Independent.
Voters will still have their say on the new congressional boundaries. The referendum will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot as Proposition A.
The redistricting effort began after President Donald Trump encouraged Missouri and other Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries before the 2026 midterm elections. Missouri lawmakers approved the new map during a special legislative session last year.