A Missouri state judge ruled Wednesday that new U.S. House district boundaries backed by President Donald Trump will remain in effect for the November 2026 general election, rejecting an effort to place the Republican-drawn map before voters in a statewide referendum. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that Missouri's constitutional referendum provisions do not apply to congressional redistricting enacted by the state Legislature, siding with Republican officials who argued the General Assembly holds sole authority over such maps.

Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had already blocked the referendum effort on primary day in August, refusing to certify a petition carrying thousands of signatures on the grounds that the state constitution does not permit a public vote on congressional redistricting. Judge Green upheld that refusal, ordering that the new map "remains in full force and effect for the 2026 general election." Opponents of the plan, led by Richard von Glahn of the group People Not Politicians, announced an appeal the same day, with von Glahn stating the case would ultimately be decided by the Missouri Supreme Court.

The new map was drawn after Trump urged Republican-led state legislatures to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the midterm elections. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called a special legislative session for that purpose last year, resulting in a map designed specifically to weaken Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's hold on his Kansas City-based 5th Congressional District. The redraw breaks portions of Kansas City into neighboring Republican-held districts and extends the remainder of Cleaver's district eastward into heavily Republican rural territory, with approximately 59 percent of voters in the reshaped district being new to it.

Missouri's current U.S. House delegation stands at six Republicans and two Democrats. A successful Republican effort to flip Cleaver's seat would further expand the GOP's majority in the closely divided U.S. House. With an appeal now filed and the Missouri Supreme Court likely to have the final word, the legal fight over the map is expected to continue even as candidates campaign under the new boundaries.