Conflicting Court Orders Leave Missouri Congressional Map Uncertain

Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’s emergency application on September 8, leaving a Missouri Supreme Court order to use the 2022 congressional districts in place. Minutes later, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a 14-day temporary restraining order requiring the 2025 HB 1 districts, which Missouri used for its August 4 primaries. Opponents appealed to the Eighth Circuit. The federal order said changing districts between the primary and general elections would likely violate equal-protection and Article I protections, leaving election officials facing unresolved district lines ahead of November voting.