By Andrew Chung
Sept 9 (Reuters) – Challengers to a redrawn congressional map in Missouri aimed at favoring Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to suspend a federal judge’s order that allowed only those reconfigured boundaries to be used in November’s midterm elections.
The map’s challengers, including a group opposed to the Republican-drawn map called People Not Politicians, made the request in an emergency filing, moving swiftly after St. Louis, Missouri-based Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued his decision on Tuesday.
The request brings the fight over Missouri’s U.S. House of Representatives districts back to the Supreme Court just one day after it declined to intervene in a bid by Missouri officials to reinstate the redrawn map, which the state’s top court had blocked until it is put to a referendum.
Clark’s order appeared to conflict with the Missouri Supreme Court’s unanimous September 3 ruling blocking the map, leaving the state’s congressional districts in limbo and injecting further confusion into the high-stakes electoral fight.
Missouri Republicans adopted the new map, which dismantled the Kansas City-based seat of longtime Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, in 2025 as part of a broader effort backed by President Donald Trump to redraw congressional districts in ways that could benefit Republican candidates.
Republicans hold a narrow 219-214 majority in the U.S. House, including one independent who caucuses with Republicans.
The dispute in Missouri arose when People Not Politicians, which calls itself a coalition of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats opposed to gerrymandering the state’s electoral map, collected enough signatures to file for a referendum under a provision in the state constitution that authorizes a ballot measure to approve any legislative act.
Hoskins rejected the petition, finding that state constitutional language does not apply to congressional redistricting.
The seven-member Missouri Supreme Court, which includes five Republican-appointed judges, disagreed, ruling that the referendum petition was “legal, sufficient, and timely,” and that the redrawn map will not take effect until approved by voters.
Missouri Republican U.S. Representative Bob Onder and other plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to reinstate the Republican-drawn map.
In his order on Tuesday, Clark barred the use of any map for the November elections except for the redrawn 2025 map because those congressional district boundaries were already used for the August 4 primary elections.
The fight intensified after Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, the state’s top election official, responded to Clark’s order by telling local election officials to proceed with using the 2025 map.
The Missouri Supreme Court then said it would consider holding Hoskins in contempt if it determines he violated its September 3 ruling blocking that map. It ordered him to appear in person on September 10 for a hearing on the matter.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; editing by Deepa Babington and David Gregorio)
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