You didn't actually think the Saga of the Missouri Maps was over, did you? Oh no, not by a long shot. 

When last we left you, the Missouri Supreme Court (SCOMO) had ruled that the state's congressional redistricting map (passed by the legislature in 2025 as HB 1) was subject to referendum and should be placed on the November ballot, effectively preventing that new 7-1 map from being used for the general election in November, even though it had been used for the August primary. This meant the state would have to revert to the old 6-2 map. Though Secretary of State Denny Hoskins sought relief from the U.S. Supreme Court on that, SCOTUS declined to intervene. 

Moments later, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark (Eastern District of Missouri) entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a case brought by Rep. Bob Onder (MO-03) and state Senator Rick Brattin (now the GOP nominee for Missouri's 5th Congressional District) against Hoskins and the state. In a nutshell, even while agreeing with SCOMO on the referendum, Clark found it highly probable that the plaintiffs in the federal case would succeed on the claims that the use of any map other than HB 1 (the one used for the primary) would violate Article 1, Section 2, and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Consequently, he issued a TRO restraining Hoskins "from implementing, using, publishing, distributing, or mandating the use of any congressional map other than the HB 1 map for the November 3, 2026 general election."

So, Hoskins promptly issued a directive to Missouri county clerks and local election authorities to finalize ballots based on the HB 1 map — i.e., the 7-1 map.

The group behind the referendum immediately filed an appeal of the Clark TRO with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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They also sought an order of contempt against Hoskins from the Missouri Supreme Court. And SCOMO promptly issued the below order to show cause:

So, as it stands right now, Hoskins must file his response to the show cause order by noon on Wednesday. The opposition must file theirs by 4:00 PM. No other parties will be allowed to intervene or file amicus briefs. And SCOMO will hold oral argument on the matter Thursday at 10:00 AM — for which Hoskins is commanded to appear. 

Will he be held in contempt? Hoskins, for his part, is not blinking.

I look forward to my day in court.

Key Rules of the Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution:

Federal Priority: When a valid federal law and a state law conflict, the federal law wins. 

State Court Duty: Judges in every state must follow federal law and the U.S. Constitution, even if state laws say otherwise.

And we don't yet know what the 8th Circuit will do with the appeal. 

Either way, we've a ways to go before the dust settles on it all. Do stay tuned.