Gerrymandering

Supreme Court Blocks Missouri's Messy, Trump-Backed Gerrymandering Fight

The decision ends a yearlong legal war spanning multiple lawsuits, contradictory state and federal court orders, and repeated appeals to the Supreme Court.

Ryan Curtis | 9.11.2026 5:00 PM

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On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in Missouri's controversial redistricting battle, backing the Missouri Supreme Court's decision that the state could not use a congressional map drafted by the state's Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe last year. 

The Supreme Court's decision, which blocked a federal court order, is a blow to President Donald Trump's gerrymandering push, which began last August when the president urged numerous red states across the country to modify their congressional district lines to favor Republicans in the midterm elections. Kehoe was happy to oblige, swiftly drawing up a new map that the Missouri Legislature approved during a special session in September 2025.

People Not Politicians, an anti-gerrymandering activist group, promptly challenged the new map, organizing a signature drive and petition. They collected over 300,000 signatures from across the state and deposited them with Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in December. Under Missouri's state constitution, the people "reserve power to approve or reject by referendum any act of the general assembly." So, once Hoskins' office had verified the signatures, implementation of the new map would be paused until a........

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