Missouri Judge Rejects Redistricting Referendum In Win For Trump, GOP
Democrats suffered another major redistricting defeat this week after a Missouri judge ruled that opponents cannot use the state’s referendum process to challenge congressional maps approved by the Legislature.
Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green sided with Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, leaving Missouri’s new GOP-backed congressional boundaries in effect for the November midterm elections.
The ruling could strengthen Republicans’ chances of protecting their House majority and potentially flipping the Kansas City-area seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
Judge Rejects Referendum Challenge
Green ruled that Missouri’s constitutional referendum provisions “do not apply to congressional redistricting enacted by the General Assembly.”
He also determined that Hoskins acted legally when he refused to certify a referendum petition seeking to block the new map.
The judge ordered that the Republican-backed boundaries “remain in full force and effect for the 2026 general election.”
The decision removes a significant legal obstacle to using the map in November, although the dispute is not yet completely over.
Richard von Glahn, the plaintiff challenging the redistricting plan, filed an appeal Wednesday evening. The state appeals court could therefore review Green’s interpretation of the Missouri Constitution.
Unless the ruling is overturned, however, the new boundaries will govern the midterm elections.
Trump Encouraged Republican Redistricting
Missouri’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the map after President Donald Trump encouraged GOP-led states to examine whether their congressional districts should be redrawn before the 2026 elections.
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session last year to consider new boundaries.
Missouri became the second Republican-led state, following Texas, to pursue mid-decade congressional redistricting as the parties battle for control of a narrowly divided House.
Democrats and allied organizations have challenged several Republican redistricting efforts in court. In most of those disputes, they have struggled to stop the new maps from taking effect.
Cleaver’s District Becomes More Competitive
Missouri currently sends six Republicans and two Democrats to the House.
The revised map could give the GOP an opportunity to expand that advantage by making Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District significantly more competitive.
The new boundaries divide portions of Kansas City among neighboring Republican-held districts. The remainder of Cleaver’s district extends farther east into more conservative rural communities.
An Associated Press analysis estimated that approximately 59 percent of voters in the reconfigured district were not previously represented by Cleaver.
That dramatic change gives Republicans a more realistic path to winning a seat that Democrats have long controlled.
Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin secured the GOP nomination for the district earlier this month. Cleaver faced no opponent in the Democratic primary.
Map Already Used in August Primary
Missouri used the new congressional boundaries during its August primary elections.
Opponents collected thousands of signatures in an attempt to place the map before voters through a statewide referendum.
Hoskins rejected the petition on the grounds that Missouri’s Constitution does not authorize referendums challenging congressional redistricting enacted by lawmakers.
Green agreed with that interpretation and entered judgment in favor of Hoskins and the Republican organizations that intervened to defend the map.
Those groups included the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Missouri Republican State Committee.
National Battle for House Control
The Missouri litigation is part of a wider national struggle over congressional boundaries ahead of November.
With control of the House potentially coming down to only a few districts, each new map could influence which party controls the chamber during the final two years of Trump’s term.
Republicans argue that state legislatures possess the authority to revisit congressional boundaries and that Democrats are using lawsuits to block maps they fear they cannot defeat at the ballot box.
Democrats contend that the Republican maps are partisan power grabs designed to create additional GOP seats before the midterms.
Missouri’s elected lawmakers approved the new boundaries through the legislative process. Green has now ruled that opponents cannot use the state referendum process to overturn that decision.
The appeal ensures further litigation, but Democrats are quickly running out of time. The map has already been used in one election, and preparations for November are underway.
For now, the Trump-backed boundaries remain intact, and Republicans have a genuine opportunity to turn Missouri’s 6-2 congressional advantage into a 7-1 majority.