Missouri court opens contempt probe into Republican official over redistricting fight

The no-holds-barred fight over congressional maps in Missouri has reached a new level of intensity with the state’s high court opening a contempt probe into Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. The Missouri Supreme Court late Tuesday issued an order asking Hoskins, a Republican, to explain “why he should not be held in contempt” for violating a ruling last week that said the state cannot use a newly drawn GOP map. Despite the ruling, Hoskins continued to push to use the new map. The court also ordered Hoskins to appear in person when the judges hold a hearing in the case Thursday. Hoskins indicated in a post on X that he would not back down. “I look forward to my day in court,” he said. The state court order came after a flurry of court activity Tuesday. First, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch appeal from Hoskins seeking to use the new map, which seeks to eliminate a Democratic-held congressional seat in the state. Soon after, a federal judge in Missouri issued a new ruling saying the state is required to use the new map, setting up a dispute between federal and state courts. Litigation in that case continues and could soon reach the nation’s highest court again. The 2025 Republican redistricting plan, part of a wave of redistricting encouraged by President Donald Trump, sought to eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic-held seats, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Should the Missouri Supreme Court ruling remain in effect, a map drawn in 2022, with six Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats, would be in place for the general election. The Republican-led Legislature redrew the map for the November elections, seeking to eliminate one of those Democratic seats. The legal fight was kick-started when a group called People Not Politicians, led by activist Richard von Glahn, gathered signatures in support of a state referendum that would veto the Legislature’s map and put it on hold for the 2026 election while people voted on it. But Hoskins refused to put the measure on the ballot, arguing that redistricting plans are not subject to being overturned by voters. The Missouri Supreme Court, which has a majority of Republican appointees, disagreed, saying there was nothing in state law that exempted redistricting maps from being vetoed by voters via the referendum process. The state court’s contempt order came in response to a filing made by the referendum proponents’ lawyers.