The 2022 Missouri congressional map is back on.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday halted a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge this week that only allowed Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to use a district map backed by President Donald Trump that state lawmakers drew in 2025. That means that a Missouri Supreme Court decision requiring election officials to use the 2022 map is firmly in place.
While the U.S. Supreme Court gave redistricting proponents chances to litigate the case in federal court, redistricting adversaries said the decision effectively foreclosed any chance the 2025 map will be used in this year's general election.
"It's done and dusted," said Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for People Not Politicians, the group that asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark's order.
If Hatfield turns out to be correct, the U.S. Supreme Court's action is a huge victory for Missouri Democrats and the national party, which is trying to win majority control of the U.S. House in the fall.
The 2025 map was drawn at the behest of Trump to oust Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. But the map passed in 2022 contains a safe seat for the Kansas City Democrat.
The Missouri Supreme Court had ruled last week that People Not Politicians' referendum on the 2025 map had to go to voters — and that, because of the way the Missouri Constitution is written, the 2022 map would be in effect.
What the Supreme Court did
Missouri's election cycle was plunged into turmoil through a case brought by two Republican congressional candidates who had won their primaries on the 2025 map and two GOP voters. Clark, the federal judge, issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday requiring Hoskins to use the 2025 map. He wrote that having a different map in place for the general election than the primary would violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Attorneys with People Not Politicians on Wednesday appealed the temporary restraining order to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied a stay. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh took the matter to the full court, which stayed Clark's ruling pending an appeal in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. That stay will also remain in place if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to take up the case.
In a statement, Hoskins said that "following the United States Supreme Court's stay, the only governing court order in effect is from the Missouri Supreme Court."
"In accordance with that order, my Office is directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map," Hoskins said.
Washington University law professor Travis Crum said he looks forward to seeing what the plaintiffs decide to do, since Kavanaugh referred the case to the full court and none of the justices objected to removing Clark's stay.
"All nine justices reviewed this, and there's no noted dissents whatsoever, and so that again sends a strong signal," Crum said. "I think this means that we're going to be using the 2022 maps in November. The referendum is going to be on the ballot in November, and whether or not Missouri wants to continue pressing this case moving forward, that'll be interesting to see."
Marc Ellinger, a lawyer representing the two candidates, Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, declined to comment to reporters. Hoskins and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway also declined to comment on Thursday.
Democrats exuberant … and angry
While the legal proceedings are still in flux, Missouri Democrats are celebrating a major political victory.
Missouri joined other Republican-led states such as Texas and Florida in redrawing district lines to prevent the GOP from losing the U.S. House in the midterm elections. In addition to targeting Cleaver, the new map made the St. Louis-area 2nd District more GOP-leaning for Republican Congresswoman Ann Wagner.
Barring any new court orders, Cleaver will be heavily favored against Brattin – since the 2022 map basically encompasses most of heavily Democratic Kansas City.
"A win for justice. A win for democracy. A win for the people of Missouri," Cleaver said in a statement. "It is my hope that state officials will start following court orders and end this shameful attempt to break Missouri law and silence Missouri voters."
Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan, who served with Cleaver in the U.S. House, said this outcome could be vindication for a political figure who made efforts to build relationships with GOP officials.
"I don't think that's going to change, in spite of the bad behavior and bad ideas from some folks on the other side," Carnahan said. "So again, that's not going to change Congressman Cleaver. I think he's even more committed to working with folks to find solutions for people here and stop these stupid political games."
Carnahan said that this saga has been embarrassing for the state, especially since the legal turmoil made it difficult for local officials to know what to do to prepare for the Nov. 3 elections.
"It's confusing. It's disgusting," he said. "It's turning people off already at a time when we need more trust and more people working together to address real issues that people have to deal with."
This story has been updated with additional context.
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