Missouri’s redistricting fight has escalated into a direct clash between state and federal courts, with the Missouri Supreme Court now threatening to hold Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for defying its order.
Hoskins, a Republican, said Tuesday he intends to keep using the congressional map drawn last year, even though the U.S. Supreme Court left in place a Missouri Supreme Court order requiring the state to use its previous congressional districts instead.
“I look forward to my day in court,” Hoskins wrote on X, citing the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Hoskins is required to appear in court Thursday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for directing election officials to use the 2025 congressional map despite an injunction blocking it.
The dispute traces back to a ruling last week in which Missouri’s high court found the map backed by President Donald Trump could not be used, after thousands of voters signed a petition demanding a statewide referendum on it.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined to grant Hoskins an emergency stay, leaving the state court’s injunction in place. But shortly after that decision, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order barring Missouri from using any map other than the new 2025 districts—directly contradicting the state court’s directive.
Opponents of the new map moved quickly to challenge Clark’s order, filing notice to appeal it to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“An individual federal judge cannot overrule the Missouri Supreme Court,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents People Not Politicians, the group behind the referendum petition.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she would comply with Judge Clark’s order, arguing it “binds the state to using” the new congressional districts.
“We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters,” Hanaway wrote on X.
The standoff is part of a wider, nationwide push by Republicans to redraw congressional lines mid-decade in an effort to pick up U.S. House seats. Missouri currently sends six Republicans and two Democrats to the House. The new map would eliminate one Democratic seat, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
