“Judge rules Missouri’s new GOP-leaning congressional redistricting map is in effect”

A Cole County judge ruled Friday that a new Missouri congressional map lawmakers approved last year is in effect. While the decision will be appealed, Cole County Judge Brian Stumpe’s decision is a win for a national effort to create more GOP-leaning congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections. Missouri Republican lawmakers last year redrew the congressional districts at the behest of President Donald Trump. It’s part of a national GOP strategy to make enough House districts safe for Republicans to keep control of the U.S. House. But the group People Not Politicians turned in signatures to place the new map up for a November 2026 vote. And representatives from that group contended submitting those signatures prevented the 2025 map from going into effect. After Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said late last year that signature submission didn’t prevent the new lines from going into effect, the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court. Stumpe ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the case. He also said that there’s not a justiciable dispute for him to rule on right now, adding that “any opinion rendered by this Court at this juncture would be merely an advisory opinion that could become moot if the Secretary determines the petition insufficient.”