By admin 
A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied an attempt to block Missouri from using a gerrymandered congressional map in November, a decision that struck a blow to opponents of the map who appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Read more Kaiser places final beam atop Railyards hospital. ‘The momentum’s building’
The ruling from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block Judge Stephen R. Clark’s decision, which found that the map can be used in November. The ruling comes as Missouri Republicans are attempting to push the map through ahead of the Nov. 3 election despite a state Supreme Court decision blocking it.
The three-judge panel found that it either lacked jurisdiction over the matter or that map opponents did not meet the threshold for a stay, a temporary decision blocking Clark’s ruling. The panel included Judges James B. Loken, David R. Stras and Justin D. Smith.
Wednesday’s order marked another salvo in Missouri’s chaotic redistricting saga that has drawn national attention. A recent flurry of legal filings has left election officials scrambling and raised serious questions about which map Missouri will use in the election.
People Not Politicians, a campaign seeking to strike down the map, filed an emergency application with the nation’s highest court on Wednesday. The motion asks Justice Brett Kavanaugh to block Clark’s ruling, setting up a second showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court.
At the center of the controversy is Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map, which Republican lawmakers passed last year under pressure from the Trump administration. The map dices Kansas City voters into three GOP-leaning districts in the hopes of ousting Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
The Missouri Supreme Court last week blocked that map from being used in November. The state’s highest court found that the map could only take effect if voters approved it during a statewide referendum vote on Nov. 3.
Read more Van driver’s widow files lawsuit in Miami after Amazon plane crash
That ruling was thrown into uncertainty Tuesday evening amid two conflicting decisions.
First, Kavanaugh rejected Missouri’s effort to reinstate the map, handing Republicans a loss. Moments later, however, Clark, a federal judge in St. Louis, barred the state from using any map other than the gerrymandered one, called HB 1.
In the wake of the two decisions, Missouri Republicans have seized on the federal one. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins sent emails to local election officials directing them to use the gerrymandered map in the election. Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway echoed that promise in a statement.
The state Supreme Court has ordered Hoskins to appear in court on Thursday and explain why he should not be held in contempt for ordering the use of the map in November. Hoskins is seeking a federal order that would prevent him from having to appear in court.
This story was originally published September 9, 2026 at 2:18 PM with the headline “Appeals court declines to block Missouri’s gerrymandered map as case heads to SCOTUS.”
Read more California AG sues Trump administration over weakening of Endangered Species Act