The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday evening moved to close the book on the chaotic legal battle in Missouri over a Republican bid to redraw congressional districts ahead of the November election.
In an unsigned order, with no noted dissents, the court blocked an 11th-hour directive by a federal appeals court earlier this week that would have required the state to abruptly shift to a newly redrawn election map favored by Republicans, days after separate court orders had mandated use of an older map from 2022.
“At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the opinion stated.
The practical impact, with some voting already underway in the state, is to preserve the status quo and a 2022 election map that Democrats and voter advocacy groups have fought to defend.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican who had championed last year’s mid-decade redistricting in his state, wrote on X on Friday that he was disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling for now against the 2025 congressional map, but that the state would follow the court — meaning Missouri will use its 2022 congressional map in the midterms.
“It is disappointing that today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court means Missouri will conduct its November general election under a different congressional map than its primary election,” Kehoe wrote.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe speaks to attendees before Vice President JD Vance takes the stage during an event at Milbank Manufacturing in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, May 18, 2026.
Colin E. Braley/AP Photo
Missouri’s 2022 congressional map has seven Republican-leaning and two Democratic-leaning seats. The 2025 map would have reduced the number of seats favoring Democrats to one.
Legal battles over the 2025 map have lasted months, creating confusion and anxiety for state election administrators and some voters, who have struggled to keep up with their congressional district status and which candidates were running where.
The court’s decision appeared aimed at being the final word on the debate, with just over a month before Election Day.
“The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri,” the opinion stated.
People opposed to new the U.S. House districts passed by the Missouri General Assembly demonstrate outside the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., on March 10, 2026.
David A. Lieb/AP Photo
Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature last year passed into law a new congressional map that redrew the district currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to lean Republican, as part of a nationwide mid-decade redistricting push encouraged by President Donald Trump.
But Democrats and other opponents of the new map filed legal challenges. They also petitioned to get on the ballot an initiative to put the new map up for a vote in November, which will allow voters to ultimately decide whether to keep the redrawn map; the legal back and forth led to the map going before the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked the 2022 GOP-friendly map in a brief unexplained order with no noted dissents. The map had also been invalidated by the state’s high court.
However, earlier this week, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state should use the GOP-drawn map.
