A federal district judge on Tuesday reinstated Missouri’s new Republican-leaning congressional map for the upcoming general election, hours after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the state’s emergency request to pause a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that had blocked the map’s use.

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The decision sets up a direct clash between state and federal courts over which congressional map will govern Missouri’s 2026 elections, with party control of a key seat at stake and legal appeals ongoing.

The dispute centers on a map approved by the Missouri Legislature and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe in September 2025, which would shift the state’s congressional delegation from six Republicans and two Democrats to seven Republicans and one Democrat. The Missouri Supreme Court last week ruled that a petition to force a statewide referendum on the new map was legal and timely, blocking the map’s use for the general election and citing the state constitution’s language authorizing referenda on acts of the General Assembly.

Supreme Court Application and Denial

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and state officials filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, arguing that the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling would force primary winners to run in dramatically different districts and risk disenfranchising voters. The application warned that changing the map between the primary and general elections was “simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters.”

"Looking backwards, the order renders a completed federal Primary Election utterly pointless — disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters who will now be moved into new districts and forced to vote for candidates they had no role in selecting. Looking forwards, the State is genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election."

— Missouri’s emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Kavanaugh, who oversees emergency requests from the 8th Circuit, denied Missouri’s application on Monday without explanation, according to the Supreme Court docket. Kavanaugh has previously endorsed the Purcell principle, which discourages courts from altering election rules close to an election, but did not cite it in this instance.

Federal Court Steps In

Shortly after Kavanaugh’s denial, Chief Judge Stephen Clark of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a temporary restraining order in a separate lawsuit brought by several Missouri congressional candidates. Clark’s order barred state election officials from using any map other than the new 2025 plan for the November 3, 2026, general election.

Clark wrote that using a different map would "wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections, calling into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the votes of those who voted in the primaries. Widespread voter confusion would inevitably follow. The public interest factor thus weighs in favor of a TRO."

The temporary restraining order is set to last 14 days, with a preliminary injunction hearing to be scheduled separately. As of Monday night, the order was already on appeal to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to local media reports.

The legal fight follows a petition drive by activists seeking a statewide referendum on the new map, which Secretary Hoskins rejected, arguing the state constitution did not allow such a referendum on congressional redistricting. The Missouri Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that the petition was valid and blocking the new map’s use for the election.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said the state would comply with Chief Judge Clark’s order, stating, “We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters.”

The outcome remains uncertain, with the federal court’s order in effect for two weeks and the case now before the 8th Circuit. Supporters of the referendum have not issued a public response to the federal court’s intervention.

State ballots are set to be finalized on Monday, adding urgency to the legal wrangling over which map will be used.