JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri congressional map fight over which lines will govern the Nov. 3 general election plunged into open conflict Tuesday after two federal actions pointed local clerks in opposite directions within minutes of each other.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied an emergency request from Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and Catherine Hanaway seeking to stay a Missouri Supreme Court order that bars officials from using a 2025 congressional map and instead keeps the 2022 lines in place for the fall. That state ruling also cleared a People Not Politicians referendum for the November ballot and preserved a district structure that has long favored Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
Minutes later, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark of the Eastern District of Missouri issued a temporary restraining order in a separate lawsuit filed by Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin. Clark barred Hoskins from “implementing, using, publishing, distributing, or mandating the use of any congressional map other than the [2025 plan] for the Nov. 3 election.”
This is a new chapter beyond our earlier Missouri congressional map coverage after the state high court’s block of the redraw. Tuesday’s orders left clerks choosing between a state supreme court injunction and a federal TRO — with military and overseas ballots due around Sept. 18.
Why the Missouri congressional map matters
Control of the U.S. House is at stake nationally, and Missouri congressional map fight is part of a broader midterm redistricting push. Republicans enacted the 2025 “Missouri First” map last year after President Donald Trump urged GOP-led states to redraw lines ahead of the midterms. Opponents argue the plan was designed to oust Cleaver; supporters say it reflects lawful legislative power.
For voters, the immediate problem is practical. Primaries already ran under the 2025 HB 1 map. Clark wrote that switching maps for the general election would “wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness” of the races, raise questions about who was nominated, and sow “widespread voter confusion.” Hoskins told St. Louis Public Radio he agreed that more than a million primary voters should not be disenfranchised and that Judge Clark’s message was that the 2025 map is in effect.
People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard von Glahn and attorney Chuck Hatfield disputed that reading. They said Clark’s TRO did not expressly overturn the Missouri Supreme Court’s injunction and argued a single federal district judge cannot override a state supreme court. Hatfield asked the state high court to hold Hoskins in contempt for directing clerks to use HB 1. Late Tuesday, Chief Justice Brent Powell ordered Hoskins to appear Thursday and show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violating the court’s injunction.
Election officials described the bind in blunt terms. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said the Missouri Supreme Court requires the 2022 map while the federal court forbids it. St. Charles County Elections Director Kurt Bahr said his office would prepare ballots under the 2025 maps for now, warning that a late map change would force costly reprints and threaten timely access for six weeks of absentee voting. St. Louis County Elections Director Eric Fey said clerks statewide remain confused and are still assessing next steps.
The timetable compresses quickly. Military ballots typically must begin going out about 45 days before a federal election — around Sept. 18 this cycle — and early absentee windows follow soon after. That deadline leaves little room for appellate wrangling before printers and county offices lock ballot designs.
Related September election stories — Rhode Island’s primary election, Alabama’s absentee ballot mailing window, and USPS mail-ballot rules litigation — show the same calendar pressure on clerks.
Hoskins told STLPR he believes the federal TRO prevails and distinguished Clark’s candidate-driven case from the application Kavanaugh denied. People Not Politicians said it would seek stays in the 8th Circuit and again before Kavanaugh, and immediately appealed Clark’s order.
We are monitoring Thursday’s contempt hearing, any 8th Circuit action, and county ballot-printing decisions before the Sept. 18 military-ballot window.
How Never Late News reported this
This article is based primarily on reporting by Jason Rosenbaum for St. Louis Public Radio published Sept. 8–9, 2026, including on-the-record statements from Hoskins, von Glahn, Hatfield, and county elections directors Lennon, Bahr, and Fey, plus quoted language from Judge Clark’s TRO and Chief Justice Powell’s show-cause order. We cross-checked the chronology against our earlier Missouri congressional map coverage so readers can see what changed Tuesday versus prior state-court developments. We did not independently obtain sealed filings; where outcomes remain unresolved (contempt, 8th Circuit stay), we state that clearly.
Primary source: St. Louis Public Radio on the competing Missouri map orders.
Corrections and reader feedback
If you are a Missouri elections official, candidate, or attorney with a public filing or county memo that clarifies which map your office will print, email tips@neverlatenews.com. We correct errors promptly and note substantive updates at the top of the story when court status changes.