Missouri AG vows U.S. Supreme Court fight after congressional map ruling
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Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is preparing an emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court after the state’s highest court blocked Missouri’s new congressional map from being used in November.
Hanaway told KZRG’s Morning Newswatch on Friday that her office filed a request asking the Missouri Supreme Court to pause its ruling, a necessary step before seeking an emergency stay from the nation’s highest court.
BUT just before 10 a.m., the court rejected Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ request to temporarily pause an order requiring the Nov. 3 congressional election to use the districts that were in place for the 2024 election.
The court denied the request without comment.
“It’s absolutely shocking, totally unexpected that our Supreme Court would be the very first in the nation to order us to change maps between the primary election and the general,” Hanaway said.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a referendum petition challenging the Republican-drawn map was legal, sufficient, and filed on time.
The court said the map never took effect because opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures before its effective date.
The ruling means Missouri must use its previous congressional boundaries in the Nov. 3 general election unless the decision is stayed.
Voters will also decide whether to approve or reject the new map.
Those boundaries are different from the map used during Missouri’s August primary.
Hanaway said that could leave some voters casting general election ballots in different congressional districts than those in which they voted during the primary.
“It’s going to be very confusing to voters if they show up at the polls in November and their candidate of choice in the primary isn’t even on the ballot,” Hanaway said.
She said the change is not expected to affect the Joplin metro but could have a major impact around Kansas City and parts of central Missouri.
The new map was designed to give Republicans an opportunity to win seven of Missouri’s eight congressional seats, largely by reshaping the district represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.
Missouri’s previous map produced a delegation of six Republicans and two Democrats.
