Democrats attempting to derail Republican-led congressional redistricting efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections suffered another courtroom defeat this week, this time in Missouri, where a state judge cleared the way for a GOP-backed map to remain in place.
The decision marks the latest setback for Democrats and allied groups challenging mid-decade redistricting plans adopted in Republican-controlled states over the past year.
Advertisement
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green sided with Republican Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in a dispute over whether opponents of the state’s newly approved congressional boundaries could use Missouri’s referendum process to put the map before voters.
Green concluded that the state Constitution does not provide such a mechanism for challenging congressional districts enacted by lawmakers.
In his ruling, Green said Missouri’s referendum provisions “do not apply to congressional redistricting enacted by the General Assembly.”
Advertisement
The judge also found that Hoskins acted within his legal authority when he refused to certify a referendum petition submitted by opponents seeking to block the new boundaries.
Green ordered that the Republican-backed congressional map “remains in full force and effect for the 2026 general election,” delivering an important victory to Republicans as both parties fight for control of a closely divided U.S. House.
The legal dispute, however, is not finished.
Advertisement
Richard von Glahn, the plaintiff who challenged the map, filed an appeal Wednesday evening, according to the court docket. That move sends the fight to Missouri’s appellate courts and leaves open the possibility of additional legal action before voters head to the polls in November.
For now, Republicans have prevailed.
Missouri lawmakers approved the new boundaries after President Donald Trump urged GOP-controlled states to examine whether congressional districts could be redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The biggest political impact could come in the Kansas City region, where Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver currently represents Missouri’s 5th Congressional District.
Republicans see an opportunity to make that seat considerably more competitive.
Missouri currently sends eight representatives to Congress, with Republicans holding six seats and Democrats controlling two. Under the revised boundaries, portions of Kansas City have been placed into surrounding Republican-held districts, while Cleaver’s remaining district stretches farther east into rural territory that has traditionally favored GOP candidates.
The changes are substantial.
An Associated Press analysis estimated that roughly 59% of voters living within the newly configured district were not previously represented by Cleaver.
Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won the GOP nomination for the newly drawn district earlier this month. Cleaver, meanwhile, advanced without opposition in the Democratic primary.
Advertisement
Missouri voters have already encountered the new political landscape. The boundaries were used during the state’s August primary elections.
Critics of the redistricting plan mounted a campaign to stop it, gathering thousands of signatures in hopes of forcing a statewide referendum.
Hoskins rejected that effort, maintaining that Missouri’s Constitution does not give voters the authority to use the referendum process against congressional redistricting legislation.
Green agreed.
Advertisement
His judgment favored both Hoskins and Republican organizations that entered the case to defend the map, including the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee and Missouri Republican State Committee.
The Missouri showdown is one front in a much larger national fight over congressional boundaries and control of Capitol Hill.
With the House narrowly divided, even a small number of newly competitive or safer districts could have major consequences for which party holds the speaker’s gavel following November’s elections.
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe helped set Missouri’s redistricting process in motion last year by calling lawmakers into a special legislative session to consider new congressional boundaries. The move came after Trump encouraged Republican-led states to explore redistricting before the 2026 elections.
Lawmakers ultimately approved a plan reshaping multiple districts and potentially improving Republicans’ chances of expanding their congressional majority.
Advertisement
Missouri became the second GOP-controlled state, after Texas, to pursue new congressional boundaries as part of the broader mid-decade redistricting push.
Democrats and redistricting opponents are continuing to fight the Missouri plan, but Green’s ruling represents a significant hurdle.
Unless an appeals court intervenes and overturns the decision, Missouri’s new Trump-backed congressional map will remain the political playing field for November’s general election, giving Republicans another key victory in the nationwide battle over the House.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
