Federal judge allows Missouri’s top court to hold contempt hearing in redistricting dispute

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  — A federal judge has allowed Missouri’s top court to proceed with a contempt hearing Thursday for Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, escalating a constitutional showdown over which congressional districts will be used in the November election.

The dispute centers on a new congressional map supported by President Donald Trump and Missouri Republicans. The map is designed to strengthen the state’s Republican congressional delegation, potentially giving the GOP seven of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark ruled Tuesday that Hoskins could not use any map other than the Trump-backed districts for the general election. The decision came after Missouri’s Supreme Court ordered Hoskins to use the previous congressional boundaries and instructed him to appear at a contempt hearing for directing local election officials to prepare for the new map.

Hoskins has followed Clark’s order and told election authorities to use the revised districts. State attorneys representing him asked Clark to halt the contempt proceedings, but the federal judge declined.

The hearing is scheduled as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a request from opponents of the new map who want Clark’s ruling temporarily blocked. The overlapping cases have left Missouri officials, candidates and voters facing uncertainty over which districts will govern the November contest.

Missouri became the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to redraw congressional boundaries. Republicans argue that the redistricting effort is a legitimate response to changing political realities and that voters should have clear, stable districts before casting ballots.

The revised map places the Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver into a more Republican-leaning configuration. Parts of Cleaver’s district were shifted into surrounding areas, while the remaining territory was extended into rural communities where Republicans have traditionally performed strongly.

Republicans say the map could help the party gain one additional House seat and secure seven of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.

Opponents gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures seeking a statewide referendum on the redistricting plan and submitted them in December. Hoskins rejected the petition in August, the same day as Missouri’s primary election, arguing that the referendum process could not be used for congressional redistricting.

Republican officials have argued that reversing the map after the primary would create confusion and potentially violate voters’ federal rights by changing district assignments between elections. They also contend that candidates and election administrators need certainty as the general election approaches.

The Missouri Supreme Court, however, ordered Hoskins last week to place the referendum on the November ballot. The court also ruled that the new districts had never legally taken effect and directed officials to use the congressional map approved by Republican lawmakers in 2022 following the last census.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear an appeal of that ruling. Minutes later, Clark issued his order requiring the Trump-backed map to be used, setting the stage for Thursday’s contempt hearing.

The outcome could determine not only Missouri’s congressional boundaries but also whether Trump-aligned Republicans retain the momentum they have built heading into the midterms. For now, the state’s election machinery remains caught between competing state and federal commands, with the nation’s highest court potentially positioned to resolve the dispute.

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