Appeals court reinstates GOP House map in Missouri for November election

A federal appeals court reinstated the Missouri GOP’s 7-1 House map to be used in time for the November elections, delivering a boost for several Republican candidates who wanted a more favorable map for the party to be used in the midterm elections.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that using an older set of maps that gives Republicans a 6-2 advantage in the House instead of newer ones the party passed last year and used in this year’s primaries was unconstitutional.

“If the 2022 map is used in the November 2026 general election, some Missouri voters will have more say than others on who represents them in Congress,” the circuit court’s panel wrote in its Monday ruling.

The ruling offers a temporary victory for Republicans who are looking to add pickup opportunities in the House ahead of November, though the decision is all but certain to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling to reinstate the 7-1 congressional map does not immediately take effect, however. The federal circuit court gave a one-week pause for the high court to hear an expected appeal to the case.

“If the Supreme Court has not stayed or otherwise altered the permanent injunction by that time, Secretary Hoskins and all others bound by this judgment must fully implement the 2025 map for the November 2026 general election,” the circuit court wrote.

The dispute centers around two different congressional map designs. The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered state officials to proceed with a GOP-favored 6-2 map after ruling that a new 7-1 design could not be enforced unless voters approved it in a referendum.

The new lines had already been used in this year’s primary elections, and state Republicans warned that changing them for the general election would create confusion among voters.

Those concerns were persuasive to U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, who sided with plaintiff Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) in a separate, federal lawsuit and told the state to keep implementing the new map for November.

The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in shortly after and halted Clark’s order, however. There were no noted dissents, and the justices did not publicly explain their decision.

That left the appeals judges grappling with how to interpret the high court’s ruling, with at least one giving the impression during oral arguments earlier this month that there was more work to be done on the merits.

The 8th Circuit Court reiterated these concerns over voter confusion, writing in its Monday ruling that “any confusion stems from the last-minute decision by a state court to switch the congressional map.”

The issue is now likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time in as many weeks.

The multiple lawsuits and dueling directives have caused havoc for the state’s election officials, voters and candidates, particularly as Saturday was the deadline to send overseas and military ballots. State officials were operating under the assumption that Missouri would be using its old 6-2 map for the general election.