Missouri’s gerrymandered map can be used in 2026, judge says, scrambling election
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge allows gerrymandered map to govern Missouri’s 2026 congressional election.
- Ruling advances path for Republicans to try to unseat Emanuel Cleaver.
- ACLU and advocates may appeal as referendum and legal fights proceed.
A Missouri judge on Friday allowed the state’s gerrymandered congressional map to take effect for the 2026 election, a seismic ruling that bolsters a Republican attempt to force Kansas City’s longtime congressman out of office.
The 18-page order found that top Missouri officials did not violate state law when they enacted the map after a referendum campaign turned in signatures to force a statewide vote on it. The ruling means that, as of now, the map will be in effect for the Nov. 3, 2026, election.
The ACLU of Missouri, which sued to block the map, vowed to appeal the decision. But Friday’s order clears a path for Republicans to unseat U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat.
“This order defies over a century of judicial precedent while rendering Missourians’ constitutional right to the referendum process second to the will of politicians,” the ACLU of Missouri said in a statement.
The sweeping ruling is likely to send shockwaves across Kansas City, marking a win for President Donald Trump, who pressured Missouri officials to redraw the state’s map in an effort to ensure Republican control of Congress.
The order from Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe also appears to scramble Missouri’s election season, setting up several chaotic – and dueling – scenarios. Missouri voters could be asked to vote on congressional candidates based on the new map and also decide whether to strike down that map in the same election.
The referendum, the avenue for reversing the gerrymandered map in the upcoming election, would have to go through one of the map’s biggest supporters. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, would need to certify a ballot measure that pauses the map until Missouri voters weigh in during the General Election.
Chuck Hatfield, a prominent Missouri attorney involved in multiple redistricting cases, told The Star that one likely scenario is that Hoskins still certifies the referendum for the ballot this summer, but claims it is too late to stop the map from being used in the 2026 election.
“I fully expect he will say that,” Hatfield said earlier this week. “He’s refused to follow the law through most of this process. So I mean, I expect we’re going to have to bring more lawsuits about it down the road.”
Missouri Republican lawmakers approved the map last year during a chaotic special session called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, thrusting the state into a national redistricting frenzy. The map’s boundaries slice through Kansas City, splitting the city’s voters into three Republican-leaning districts.
Republicans celebrated the ruling Friday evening. Republican lawmakers have dubbed the map the “Missouri First Map,” claiming its boundaries better reflect the state’s GOP tilt.
“A win on all counts. The Missouri FIRST Map remains in effect,” Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said in a social media post.
The order boosted Republican efforts to oust Cleaver, Kansas City’s first Black mayor, who has represented the city’s urban core in Congress since 2005. In a statement, Cleaver emphasized his commitment to run for the 5th District regardless of its boundaries while criticizing how the map was adopted.
“Today’s court decision, while unfortunate, again renews my energy to stand firm in Congress fighting for the shared values of Missourians,” Cleaver said. “Mid-decade redistricting is the art of looking for a cheap way to win elections that they would otherwise lose.”
Five Republican candidates have already filed to run under the map’s boundaries.
The ruling comes as voters across the state are also gearing up for a potential statewide vote that would decide whether the map will be formally struck down. A referendum campaign, called People Not Politicians, is awaiting the results of a signature verification process after turning in more than 300,000 signatures to force a vote.
Missouri’s map
The map’s fate will likely rest with appeals court judges.
A final ruling on the map would mark the culmination of the state’s unprecedented redistricting efforts last year.
The map carves more than 70,000 minority residents out of Cleaver’s district and used Troost Avenue, Kansas City’s historic racial dividing line, as a divider between the 4th and 5th Congressional Districts, The Star previously revealed.
Under the map, the 5th District stretches east from Troost Avenue to the rural cities and towns spread across central Missouri. It combines the voters in eastern Jackson County with voters in places hours away, like Jefferson City, Maries County and Osage County.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 12:16 PM.
