Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway on Friday filed an emergency appeal urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the new congressional map backed by President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders to be used in November’s midterm election.
The appeal comes after Missouri’s high court blocked the redistricting map and ordered a statewide vote in November on whether to keep it.
Hanaway asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the state high court’s decision immediately.
“We have just appealed yesterday’s catastrophic ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States. We 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,” Hanaway, a Republican, said in a statement.
State law sets a Tuesday deadline to make changes to the November ballot. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who hears appeals of cases from the region and can decide alone or refer to the full court, asked opponents of the new map to respond to the appeal by Monday.
The Missouri high court ruling on Thursday was among the latest rulings in a national redistricting battle backed by Trump. The GOP had aimed to use Missouri’s new congressional map to help win an additional seat and hold onto its slim House majority.
The state Supreme Court ruled that the referendum petition, filed in December after opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures, prevented the new districts from taking effect unless approved by voters.
Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until primary Election Day last month to reject the petition, arguing that Missouri’s constitution does not allow referendum petitions on congressional redistricting. A lower court sided with Hoskins, but the state Supreme Court overturned his decision.
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the court said in its ruling. The measure with the new districts “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.”
Missouri’s new districts were used in the primaries last month, but the state Supreme Court said they cannot be used again unless voters first uphold the new districts passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe last September.
Now, the congressional map adopted after the 2020 census “remains in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election,” the court said.
Five of the seven current justices on the Missouri Supreme Court, including the chief justice, were appointed by Republican governors.
Hanaway said no other court has ordered congressional maps after a primary but before a general election.
“No court in American history has ever given such an extraordinary remedy, which inflicts unprecedented chaos on Missouri,” her office wrote in the appeal. “Looking forwards, the State is genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election.”
DEMS DERIDED TRUMP’S MIDTERM GAMBLE — UNTIL HE ENDED UP WINNING BIG
Congressional districts are typically redrawn at the start of each decade, based on new census data, but Trump’s mission to tip the scales in favor of Republicans in the midterm election sparked a mid-decade redistricting battle that spread to more than a dozen states across the nation.
Trump called Thursday’s ruling “ridiculous” and argued it was unconstitutional, saying there will not be enough time to change the map before November’s elections. Missouri’s governor said he is “extremely disappointed” in the decision “by unelected judges and their lack of respect for the legislative process.”
The new Missouri map targeted longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district by shifting it eastward to include rural right-leaning voters. The map was intended to make Cleaver’s district more favorable to Republicans, who hoped it would produce a 7-1 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.
“More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress,” Cleaver said on Thursday. “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 Associated Press contributed to this report.