Missouri Voters Reject Republican Congressional Map

The measure failed with 61.8% opposed and 38.2% in favor after 99% of results had been tallied. The decision means Missouri will return to the congressional map approved in 2022, with six Republican-leaning districts and two Democratic-leaning districts centered on St. Louis and Kansas City.

Republican lawmakers passed the revised map in 2025 after President Donald Trump called for mid-decade redistricting. The plan divided Kansas City into new districts and could have shifted the balance of the state’s eight congressional seats from six Republican-leaning districts to seven. It also placed longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver in a heavily Republican district.

People Not Politicians Missouri gathered more than 300,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot, exceeding the 106,000 required. The group’s effort set up a vote on whether to veto the new map.

Missouri Republicans sought to use the revised map in the 2026 midterms. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins declined to certify the referendum for the ballot in August, arguing it was unconstitutional. The dispute moved through state and federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected three attempts by Republicans to use the map for the 2026 elections.

Across the country, nine states adopted fresh congressional boundaries before the 2026 midterms, beyond the usual post-census process. The redistricting fight is expected to continue into the next election cycle, with both parties’ state governments pursuing responses to the other side’s efforts.

Missouri Voters Reject GOP Map Designed to Gain a House Seat

Missouri voters have stopped Republicans from using a 2025 map that carved up Kansas City and threatened to place Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver in a district strongly favoring Republicans. The measure failed, with 61.8% opposed and 38.2% in favor after 99% of results were tallied.

The outcome restores the 2022 map, which has six Republican-leaning districts and two Democratic-leaning districts centered on St. Louis and Kansas City. The rejected plan could have given Republicans an advantage in seven of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.

Voters got the chance to weigh in after People Not Politicians Missouri gathered more than 300,000 signatures, far above the 106,000 required. Republicans had fought to use the map in the 2026 midterms, while Secretary of State Denny Hoskins declined to certify the referendum for the ballot in August, arguing it was unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected three Republican attempts to use the new map for the 2026 elections. Missouri’s vote adds to a national mid-decade redistricting battle that is expected to continue into the next election cycle, as state governments respond to one another’s efforts to reshape congressional representation.

Missouri Rejects GOP Map as Redistricting Fight Continues

A Republican plan to redraw Missouri’s congressional districts failed at the ballot box, with 61.8% voting against it and 38.2% supporting it after 99% of results were tallied. The result preserves the 2022 map, with six Republican-leaning districts and two Democratic-leaning districts.

The 2025 map divided Kansas City into new zones that could have shifted the balance to seven Republican-leaning districts out of eight. It was part of a broader mid-decade redistricting push, but opponents gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force a referendum, well above the 106,000 required.

Republicans sought to use the revised map in the 2026 midterms. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins argued the referendum was unconstitutional and declined to certify it for the ballot in August. The dispute went through state and federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected three attempts to use the map in the 2026 elections.

The vote leaves Missouri’s congressional lines unchanged from 2022 even as nine states adopted new maps before the 2026 midterms. The wider redistricting fight is expected to carry into the next election cycle, with Republican- and Democratic-led states continuing to respond to each other’s moves.