In a blow for Republicans, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Missouri from using its new GOP-friendly congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections on Thursday.
In its newly released order, the high court temporarily paused a lower court directive issued Tuesday by Chief District Judge Stephen Clark. That temporary restraining order instructed the Show Me State to use its 2025 congressional map for the November elections rather than its 2022 map.
The Missouri Legislature and GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe approved the new map in question in September 2025. It sought to move the state from a six Republican-two Democrat map to a seven Republican-one Democrat map.
A group of organizers submitted signatures in support of a petition later that year to place a statewide referendum for the new maps on the state’s 2026 fall ballot. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition last month, arguing that the state constitution “does not authorize a referendum on congressional redistricting plans passed by the General Assembly.”
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected that argument in a ruling last week. In blocking the Show Me State from using the 2025 map for the 2026 contests, the state court ruled that “the plain language of … the Missouri Constitution authorizes a referendum as to ‘any act of the general assembly’ and no exception applies.”
With state ballots expected to be finalized on Tuesday, Hoskins and state officials filed an emergency application with SCOTUS last Friday, asking that the decision be paused. They noted how the state primaries have already been held under the new congressional map, and that the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling “undoubtedly will require the winners of the Primary Election to run in dramatically different districts for the General Election.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh — who oversees applications from the 8th Circuit — denied the state’s request without explanation on Tuesday. Not long after Kavanaugh’s order came down, Clark issued a TRO in a separate lawsuit brought by several Missouri congressional candidates, in which he ordered Missouri to use its 2025 map.
While Missouri officials indicated their willingness to follow Clark’s order, left-wing challengers appealed to the 8th Circuit. The challengers later appealed to SCOTUS after the appellate court rejected their request to stay Clark’s TRO.
The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for its Thursday decision to pause Clark’s ruling. The order did not include any noted dissents.
The justices said that Clark’s ruling is paused “pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari in this Court, if such a writ is timely sought.” The Supreme Court’s stay will terminate if a petition to SCOTUS is denied by the high court or if SCOTUS agrees to consider the matter and issue a judgment on the merits of the case.
The state’s new congressional map will be considered by Missouri voters this November.
