Missouri Attorney General Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Intervene in Congressional Map Dispute

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri's top legal officer has taken the extraordinary step of asking the nation's highest court to reverse a state court ruling that blocked a new Republican-backed congressional map from taking effect for November's midterm elections.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed an emergency appeal Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court that stopped the redrawn districts and instead required voters to approve them in November.

"This is a catastrophic ruling," Hanaway, a Republican, said in a statement. "We have appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and look forward to the Court's prompt review of this critical matter, as our ability to hold timely and lawful congressional elections hangs in the balance."

The dispute centers on a new congressional map passed last September by Missouri's Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Governor Mike Kehoe. The map was designed to shift the Kansas City-area district represented by Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver eastward, adding rural conservative voters in what Republicans hoped would make the seat more competitive. The goal was to give the GOP a 7-1 advantage in Missouri's congressional delegation.

The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling Thursday invalidated the map, saying it cannot be used again unless voters first approve it. The justices found that a referendum petition submitted by opponents who gathered more than 305,000 signatures was legally valid and should have been allowed to proceed.

"The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise," the court wrote. The new districts "did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters."

State law sets a Tuesday deadline for making changes to November's ballot. In her appeal, Hanaway warned that no court in American history has ever ordered congressional maps to be changed after a primary election but before a general election.

"Looking forwards, the State is genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election," her office wrote. "This inflicts unprecedented chaos on Missouri."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency appeals from this region, has asked opponents of the new map to respond by Monday. He can decide the matter alone or refer it to the full court.

The controversy began when Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the referendum petition on primary election Day last month, arguing that Missouri's constitution does not permit referendum petitions on congressional redistricting. A lower court initially agreed with Hoskins, but the state Supreme Court reversed that decision, with five of its seven justices appointed by Republican governors.

Former President Donald Trump, whose administration backed the new map, called Thursday's ruling "ridiculous" and argued it was unconstitutional. Governor Kehoe said he was "extremely disappointed" by the decision "by unelected judges and their lack of respect for the legislative process."

Cleaver, however, praised the ruling as a victory for voters.

"More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress," he said. "Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won. This reaffirms that the people should choose their politicians, not the other way around. Democracy prevails."

The Missouri case is part of a broader national battle over mid-decade redistricting, with Trump's efforts to influence congressional maps spreading to more than a dozen states. Under the ruling, the old district boundaries drawn after the 2020 census will remain in effect for November's election unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.