Federal Judge in Missouri Saves the Day
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh declined to take on the case from Missouri, where the state Supreme Court ruled that the state had to put in place the former congressional districts that were recently changed, with the new districts used in the recent primaries.
Earlier in the day, the New York Times reported:
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh on Tuesday denied a request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn to give Republicans an edge in the midterm elections.
The justice’s order deferred to Missouri’s Supreme Court, which last week blocked the use of the new map even though it had been used in last month’s primary election. The state court had found that voters should first have an opportunity to vote on the new district boundaries in a statewide referendum.
Justice Kavanaugh oversees emergency requests from Missouri and acted on his own without referring the matter to the full court. He did not provide any reasoning as is often the case when the court responds to emergency filings.
Missouri’s map had been drawn to help Republicans try to pick up a Democratic-held House seat in the Kansas City area. The G.O.P. now holds six of the state’s eight House seats. The state court did not specify how Missouri should hold a general election using a different map from what was in place for the primaries.
Later in the day, a Federal Judge in Missouri ruled that the districts that were just voted on would stay in place for the upcoming election.
🚨 A federal judge has restored Missouri’s 2025 congressional map for the November election, just minutes after Justice Kavanaugh separately denied the state’s bid to revive it. pic.twitter.com/77r3RQPep6
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) September 8, 2026