Missouri Appeals Court Ok’s Republican House Drawn Districts….

If it remains in effect, that map is expected to net Republicans one additional seat in the House by erasing Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-based district.

The decision is the latest inflection point in a tangle of litigation that has touched every level of the state and federal court system, resulting in overlapping, confusing and sometimes conflicting results.

The pro-GOP map was used for the state’s primary elections last month. But it was later invalidated by Missouri’s highest court, which ruled 7-0 that the map never legally took effect in an opinion sharply critical of the state’s Republican secretary of state. That decision prompted a federal court battle that led to Monday’s ruling.

“Using the 2025 map … will lead to the least amount of confusion for voters subjected to a string of changes this month,” the panel majority wrote. “For approximately one year, Missouri operated under the 2025 map. During that time, Missourians filed to run for Congress, met candidates, watched campaign advertisements, received campaign mail, and voted under the 2025 map. Any confusion stems from the last-minute decision by a state court to switch the congressional map.”

The 8th Circuit’s call for use of the new map won’t take immediate effect. The panel gave redistricting opponents one week to get relief from the Supreme Court but said that if no such action is forthcoming, state and local officials must move forward with the election under the new map….

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