The Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City (file). Photo: Linda L Kung via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Missouri court blocks Trump-backed map before midterms.
Missouri's Supreme Court unanimously blocked a new congressional map on 4 September, ruling that a petition drive to put the map to a public vote was legally valid. The decision restores the state's previous districts, less than two months before November's midterm elections.
The map, signed into law in 2025, had reshaped the 5th district held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver to help Republicans win an extra US House seat. President Trump had urged Republican-led states to redraw maps mid-decade for political advantage, and about 10 states did so, mostly favouring Republicans.
A rare setback for Trump
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she would appeal immediately to the US Supreme Court, calling the ruling a "full-fledged constitutional crisis" and noting no US court had previously overturned a congressional map after a primary but before a general election. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had earlier rejected the referendum petition, which the campaign group People Not Politicians gathered nearly 300,000 signatures to bring.
Trump called the ruling "horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional." With ballots due to be printed soon, courts still have to settle whether states can use different maps for primary and general elections, leaving Missouri's contests in legal limbo.
This story was put together by K N N from material first published by Al Jazeera.
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Missouri’s Supreme Court unanimously blocked a new congressional map on 4 September, ruling that a petition drive to put the map to a public vote was legally valid. The decision restores the state’s previous districts, less than two months before November’s midterm elections.
The map, signed into law in 2025, had reshaped the 5th district held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver to help Republicans win an extra US House seat. President Trump had urged Republican-led states to redraw maps mid-decade for political advantage, and about 10 states did so, mostly favouring Republicans.
A rare setback for Trump
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she would appeal immediately to the US Supreme Court, calling the ruling a “full-fledged constitutional crisis” and noting no US court had previously overturned a congressional map after a primary but before a general election. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had earlier rejected the referendum petition, which the campaign group People Not Politicians gathered nearly 300,000 signatures to bring.
Trump called the ruling “horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional.” With ballots due to be printed soon, courts still have to settle whether states can use different maps for primary and general elections, leaving Missouri’s contests in legal limbo.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
