Key facts
- The U.S. Supreme Court refused an emergency appeal to use Missouri's new congressional map.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the emergency request.
- Missouri will revert to its old congressional map for the November election.
- Donald Trump had backed the new congressional map.
- The map's challengers, including People Not Politicians, appealed to the Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in Missouri's redistricting dispute, refusing an emergency appeal that sought to implement a new congressional map backed by Donald Trump for the upcoming November election. This decision allows a ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court to stand, which mandates that the new district lines must be put to a statewide vote before they can take effect.
The Missouri Supreme Court had previously determined that the referendum petition submitted by opponents of the map was legal and timely. The court overturned the Republican Secretary of State's decision to reject the petition, stating that a constitutional provision allowing a referendum on 'any act' of the Legislature encompasses congressional redistricting legislation. The state's top court said the new districts were retroactively frozen in December, when the petition signatures were submitted, and thus never became law.
The revised map targeted the 5th Congressional District, held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Portions of Kansas City were reassigned to neighboring districts represented by Republicans, and the remainder of Cleaver’s district was stretched eastward into rural Republican areas. Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while State Sen. Rick Brattin won the Republican primary in the reshaped district.
Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to redraw congressional districts at Trump's urging. Republicans had hoped to gain as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states. Democrats believe they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.