Back-to-back court orders on Tuesday injected chaos into Missouri’s plans for this year’s midterms, with state officials and a group opposed to a GOP-friendly congressional map racing into multiple courts with less than two months before Election Day.
A federal district court ordered Missouri to proceed with a congressional map for the November midterm elections that would benefit the Republican Party by giving it a chance to flip an additional seat, stepping into the case shortly after the US Supreme Court shot down an emergency appeal from GOP officials in the state.
The unusual legal machinations left uncertain whether Missouri would head into the upcoming elections with a map that gives Republicans another seat favor as the party has attempted to retain its narrow grip on the House of Representatives.
US District Judge Stephen Clark handed down a temporary order late Tuesday that would require the state to proceed under a map created last year that targets a Democratic district based in Kansas City. That decision came minutes after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied a request from Missouri Republicans to use that same map.
“Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections, calling into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the votes of those who voted in the primaries,” wrote Clark, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump. “Widespread voter confusion would inevitably follow.”
