8th Circuit Orders Missouri to Use 7-1 GOP Map for 2026 Election as Supreme Court Review Looms
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 22
8th Circuit Orders Missouri to Use 7-1 GOP Map for 2026 Election as Supreme Court Review Looms
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 22
Summary
A federal appeals court said Missouri must use the legislature’s 7-1 Republican-leaning congressional map for November, but stayed its own order for one week to allow a Supreme Court challenge.
The 8th Circuit said forcing the state back to the older 6-2 map would violate the U.S. Constitution because more than 1.4 million voters could face mismatched general-election districts after the August primary.
The dispute centers on a map that redraws Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based 5th District into more rural, Republican-leaning territory, potentially cutting Missouri’s Democratic seats from two to one.
Missouri’s Supreme Court had barred the 2025 map after a referendum challenge under the state constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court had already declined to undo that ruling while pausing a federal judge’s attempt to restore it.
People Not Politicians, which backed the referendum, said ballots are already printed and voting has begun, arguing officials should stop spending taxpayer money on further litigation.