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Ongoing story / Missouri

The court fight over Missouri's Trump-backed congressional map

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

In September 2025 Missouri Republicans passed a congressional map backed by President Donald Trump that split the Kansas City district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, aiming to win one more House seat.[1][2][3] Opponents gathered signatures for a referendum, setting off a year-long court fight; the Missouri Supreme Court put the referendum on the November 2026 ballot, which meant the election would use the old map, and the US Supreme Court refused to let the state use the new one.[4][5] On November 3, voters rejected the referendum's measure, Proposition A, leaving the state's 2022 map in place.[6] Missouri's fight was part of a national redistricting battle.

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Opponents gathered signatures for a referendum, setting off a year-long court fight; the Missouri Supreme Court put the referendum on the November 2026 ballot, which meant the election would use the old map, and the US Supreme Court refused to let the state use the new one.[4][5] On November 3, voters rejected the referendum's measure, Proposition A, leaving the state's 2022 map in place.[6] Missouri's fight was part of a national redistricting battle.

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-08-25 (UTC): 8%, 15 of 199 tracked outlets (4 left, 4 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): 11%, 24 of 214 tracked outlets (11 left, 7 center, 6 right)Week of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): 1%, 1 of 189 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 0 right)Week of 2025-09-29 (UTC): 2%, 4 of 202 tracked outlets (1 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 176 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 4%, 22 of 537 tracked outlets (8 left, 8 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 545 tracked outlets (2 left, 1 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): 4%, 18 of 464 tracked outlets (4 left, 9 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): 11%, 53 of 475 tracked outlets (14 left, 26 center, 13 right)Week of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 15%, 72 of 480 tracked outlets (22 left, 33 center, 17 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): 4%, 18 of 480 tracked outlets (4 left, 11 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 14%, 66 of 479 tracked outlets (16 left, 33 center, 17 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 471 tracked outlets (3 left, 5 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 2 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (13 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 202635210 of 4712%
Sep 21, 202616331766 of 47914%
Sep 14, 2026411318 of 4804%
Sep 7, 202622331772 of 48015%
Aug 31, 202614261353 of 47511%
Aug 17, 202649518 of 4644%
Aug 10, 20262103 of 5451%
Aug 3, 202688622 of 5374%
May 11, 20261045 of 1763%
Sep 29, 20251214 of 2022%
Sep 22, 20251001 of 1891%
Sep 8, 2025117624 of 21411%
Aug 25, 202544715 of 1998%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from FOX 2 St. Louis

    Missouri 2025 congressional map fails, Republican senator says it doomed his campaign

Background

Gov. Mike Kehoe called a special session in August 2025 to redraw the districts,[7] the House approved the plan,[8] and the Senate gave final approval in September.[2] Kehoe signed it on September 28.[1] In August 2026 the secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, rejected a citizens' petition for a referendum,[9] and a Cole County judge ruled that the state could use the new map without a statewide vote.[10] The Missouri Supreme Court then ordered the referendum onto the ballot, meaning the 2022 map would govern the election.[4] The state appealed to the US Supreme Court,[11][12] the state court moved toward contempt proceedings against Hoskins,[13] and voters filed class actions against him.[14][15]

The case returned to the US Supreme Court three times.[16] On September 25, 2026, the court issued a final order, with no noted dissents, refusing to allow the Republican map for the midterm elections.[5] The confusion left some Kansas City voters unsure who had been on their primary ballot.[17] On November 3, Decision Desk HQ projected that Proposition A would fail, a major win for Democrats.[6]

Supporting stories (17)
  1. Missouri governor signs new congressional map into law
  2. Missouri Legislature passes new Republican-drawn congressional map
  3. Federal judge orders Missouri to use map targeting Dem House seat
  4. Congressional candidates Onder, Brattin seek to overturn Missouri Supreme Court map decision
  5. SCOTUS Smacks Down MAGA Map of Missouri
  6. Missouri voters reject Proposition A; State's 2022 congressional map remains in place
  7. Missouri’s GOP governor calls special session to redraw congressional map after Texas passes redistricting bill
  8. Missouri Senate passes Trump-backed plan that could help Republicans win an additional US House seat
  9. Missouri election chief rejects bid to hold public vote on Trump-backed congressional districts
  10. Missouri court allows new Trump-backed US House districts to be used in November election
  11. Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s request to use congressional map with extra GOP seat
  12. Hanaway sends emergency application to the Supreme Court over ‘Missouri First’ map
  13. Federal judge allows Missouri’s top court to hold contempt hearing in redistricting dispute
  14. Hoskins subject of class-action suit over congressional map
  15. Two more lawsuits filed against Denny Hoskins over Missouri map disputes
  16. Supreme Court rejects a Trump-backed Missouri congressional map for the third time
  17. Congressional map changes triggered frustration more than confusion for some Missouri voters

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 27 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Missouri voters reject Proposition A; State's 2022 congressional map remains in placeHeadline from FOX 2 St. Louis · 10 outlets

September 2026

  1. How the GOP could strike out at the Supreme Court over its Missouri congressional mapHeadline from MS Now · 1 outlet
  2. House Democrats get BAD NEWS about their foothold in MissouriHeadline from Conservative Review · 2 outlets
  3. SCOTUS Smacks Down MAGA Map of MissouriHeadline from Mother Jones · 5 outlets
  4. Supreme Court rejects a Trump-backed Missouri congressional map for the third timeHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 60 outlets
  5. Two more lawsuits filed against Denny Hoskins over Missouri map disputesHeadline from FOX 2 St. Louis · 5 outlets
  6. Appeals court weighs Trump-backed Missouri congressional map despite Supreme Court blockHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 16 outlets
  7. Hoskins subject of class-action suit over congressional mapHeadline from St. Louis Post-Dispatch · 4 outlets
  8. Congressional map changes triggered frustration more than confusion for some Missouri votersHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 6 outlets
  9. Supreme Court Pauses Federal Court Order, Dealing Blow to Missouri Republicans in Gerrymander BattleHeadline from Talking Points Memo · 1 outlet
  10. Federal judge allows Missouri’s top court to hold contempt hearing in redistricting disputeHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 16 outlets
  11. Supreme Court blocks Missouri from using new map favoring Republicans in midtermsHeadline from CBS News · 60 outlets
  12. Federal judge orders Missouri to use map targeting Dem House seatHeadline from Roll Call · 1 outlet
  13. Congressional candidates Onder, Brattin seek to overturn Missouri Supreme Court map decisionHeadline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri · 1 outlet
  14. Hanaway sends emergency application to the Supreme Court over ‘Missouri First’ mapHeadline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri · 1 outlet
  15. Missouri AG Hanaway initiates process for Supreme Court appeal of congressional map rulingHeadline from Just the News · 1 outlet
  16. Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s request to use congressional map with extra GOP seatHeadline from KTVZ Bend · 62 outlets

August 2026

  1. Missouri court allows new Trump-backed US House districts to be used in November electionHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 18 outlets
  2. Judge sets trial date for Missouri redistricting referendum, initiative petition amendmentHeadline from Missouri Independent · 3 outlets
  3. Missouri Supreme Court seeks swift action in redistricting ballot measure caseHeadline from Missouri Independent · 3 outlets
  4. Missouri redistricting referendum blocked by secretary of state, drawing lawsuitHeadline from KSDK · 7 outlets
  5. Missouri election chief rejects bid to hold public vote on Trump-backed congressional districtsHeadline from Daily Journal · 16 outlets

May 2026

  1. Missouri’s new US House map goes to court while Louisiana and South Carolina consider redistrictingHeadline from The Boston Globe · 5 outlets

September 2025

  1. Missouri governor signs new congressional map into lawHeadline from The Brunswick News · 5 outlets
  2. Missouri Legislature passes new Republican-drawn congressional mapHeadline from NBC News · 10 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →