Federal judge orders Missouri to use gerrymandered map after US Supreme Court's denial

Kacen Bayless, Jack Harvel and Ben Wheeler, The Kansas City Star on Sep 8, 2026

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Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Missouri’s effort to revive the state’s gerrymandered congressional map on Tuesday, a federal judge in St. Louis ruled that Missouri must use the map in the Nov. 3 election.

The two decisions immediately sparked chaos amid Missouri’s redistricting fight. The nation’s highest court blocked Missouri’s request to use the map in the wake of a state Supreme Court order while Judge Stephen R. Clark issued a temporary restraining order requiring Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to use it.

The decision from Clark, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was not final. Opponents of the map filed an emergency notice of appeal, seeking to bring the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

But the rulings created a period of uncertainty ahead of the Nov. 3 election. They came down just four days after the Missouri Supreme Court blocked state officials from using the map in the November election.

The state Supreme Court’s decision centered on a referendum campaign seeking to strike down the map at the ballot box. The state court ordered Hoskins to place that referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot and found the map was not in effect unless voters approved it.

Supporters of the map seized on Clark’s decision and vowed to use the gerrymandered map, which they call the Missouri First Map, in November.

“Missouri is prepared to follow and comply with Chief Judge Clark’s order that binds the state to using the Missouri First map for the November General Election,” said Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway. “We appreciate Judge Clark’s support of the rights of Missouri voters, and intend to comply with this federal ruling.”

Hanaway spokesperson Colbey Stosberg said in a phone call with The Star that Clark’s federal ruling trumped the Missouri Supreme Court ruling.

Meanwhile, opponents of the map had claimed victory after Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the state’s emergency application to use the gerrymandered map. Kavanaugh issued his decision Tuesday afternoon before Clark’s ruling.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas compared the ruling to the chaotic ending of a college football matchup on Saturday in which Michigan scored a last-second touchdown to defeat Western Michigan.

“I see a federal district court in St. Louis is trying to go Big Ten referees in Ann Arbor on this and put a second back on the clock for the State GOP,” Lucas said. “SCOTUS will reject this too.”

Inside the ruling

Clark, in his decision, ruled that using a map besides the gerrymandered one would disenfranchise voters. He pointed to the fact that Missouri used that map in the August primary.

“Missouri already held its primaries using the HB 1 map,” Clark wrote. “Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections.”

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, the Republican nominee for Kansas City’s 5th Congressional District, sought a federal order requiring the state to use the map in the Nov. 3 election.

The arguments from Order and Brattin were similar to arguments swatted down by the U.S. Supreme Court less than an hour before Clark issued his decision. Clark said Kavanaugh rejected “the same federal law claims.”

The ruling recognized that Onder and Hoskins weren’t likely to succeed on their claims that redistricting bills aren’t subject to a statewide referendum vote. But, Clark said he believed they would prevail in arguments that the decision violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.

Clark said those factors outweigh the state running an election in accordance with Missouri’s Constitution.

“Conducting state elections in accordance with the Missouri Constitution undoubtedly qualifies as an important interest,” Clark wrote. “Whatever harm Defendants, Intervenors, or others might suffer under a TRO pales in comparison to the irreparable harm that Plaintiffs and, palpably notable here, the public would suffer if the Court does not issue a TRO.”

Ahead of the ruling, Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for the referendum campaign, pointed to the fact that the lawsuit included plaintiffs and defendants who were both supportive of the gerrymandered map.

“Rick Brattin suing Denny Hoskins is like Bert suing Ernie or Cheech suing Chong,” Hatfield said. “They agree on this and it’s not a proper use of the court system.”

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