DALLAS — The Supreme Court Thursday rejected a bid to implement a new congressional map in Missouri that would have likely given Republicans an extra seat in the House of Representatives.
In an order with no noted dissents, the high court imposed a stay on the map while a lawsuit brought by opponents of the redistricting gambit makes its way through the legal system.
For now, Missouri must use the map implemented following the 2020 census, which has returned a House delegation of six Republicans and two Democrats.
The new map would have carved up parts of Kansas City to weaken the Democrats’ grip on the 5th Congressional District, represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). That would have made the 1st District, repped by St. Louis Democrat Wesley Bell, the lone blue House seat in the Show-Me State.
The Missouri Supreme Court last week ordered state Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to put the new map on the November ballot for a referendum, which he did. It also ruled that the new districts never became law and instead were suspended retroactively to a December 2025 petition submission by liberal organizers.
On Tuesday, St. Louis federal judge Stephen Clark barred Hoskins from using anything other than the new map, prompting the appeal that led to Thursday’s stay.
