Missouri Supreme Court threatens secretary of state with contempt amid intensifying redistricting battle

The Missouri Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it was considering holding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt amid an escalating battle over proposed congressional maps.

Hoskins, a Republican, said Tuesday that he would keep using the congressional districts redrawn last year, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that left standing a state Supreme Court order requiring Missouri to use its old districts instead.

"I look forward to my day in court," Hoskins said in a post on X that cited the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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Hoskins must appear in court Thursday to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt for instructing election officials to use the 2025 congressional map despite an injunction barring its use.

Last week, Missouri's high court ruled that the map backed by President Donald Trump cannot be used because thousands of voters signed a petition demanding a statewide referendum on it.

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Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined to grant an emergency stay requested by Hoskins, leaving in place the injunction ordered by the state Supreme Court.

However, shortly after Kavanaugh's announcement, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Missouri from using any map other than the new 2025 districts.

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Opponents of the new redistricting plan quickly filed a notice to appeal Clark's order to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"An individual federal judge cannot overrule the Missouri Supreme Court," said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents People Not Politicians, the group that sponsored the referendum petition.

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Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she was prepared to comply with Clark's order, which she argued "binds the state to using" the new congressional districts.

"We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters," she wrote on X.

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The conflict is part of a broader, nationwide effort by Republicans to redraw congressional districts mid-decade to gain U.S. House seats.

Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. The new redistricting plan would eliminate one Democratic seat, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.