Missouri Republicans’ newly drawn congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s Democratic-held seats will move forward after the secretary of state refused to certify a referendum seeking to undo the effort.
Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins on Tuesday said he would not approve a petition seeking to thwart the GOP-drawn map, calling the effort “unconstitutional.”
“After careful consideration, I have determined the challenge to the new ‘Missouri First’ congressional map to be insufficient based on its unconstitutionality,” Hoskins told NBC News.
Hoskins’s rejection allows the map to be used in the 2026 midterm elections, almost guaranteeing the Kansas City-area seat long held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) will be won by a Republican.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Hoskins explained that the number of signatures was valid, but the referendum itself was not under the state constitution.
“At issue is not the number of signatures turned in to challenge the new congressional map, but the fact that the referendum itself is null and void by virtue of the fact that it is unconstitutional,” Hoskins said.
Missouri legislators approved the seven-Republican, one-Democrat map nearly a year ago, and the approval was quickly met with pushback from Democrats. A group called People Not Politicians Missouri responded by gathering more than 300,000 signatures to force a veto referendum. Missouri law allows voters to buck laws if they gather 106,000 petition signatures from around the state and then win a majority of votes in a statewide election.
Following Hoskins’s announcement, People Not Politicians Missouri said it would be filing a lawsuit against the Missouri official.
“Secretary of State Hoskins is making a last desperate attempt to silence the people’s voice in Missouri,” PNP Director Richard von Glahn said in a statement. “We’ve fought back against politicians for the last year, and we won’t stop now. There are more than enough signatures, verified by election authorities, to qualify the referendum.”
BY THE NUMBERS: HOW MANY SEATS HAS EACH PARTY GAINED IN REDISTRICTING?
Even if the group secures a court victory on its referendum, it is unclear if the state could undo the map changes. Hoskins’s deadline to decide on the referendum was Tuesday, and Missouri’s primary elections fell on the same day. The primaries are taking place under the redrawn map, but Hoskins noted that although he is optimistic courts would rule in his favor, the state could use the previous map in the general election if needed.
“We could run the general election on a different map than the primary,” Hoskins said. “However, I’m hopeful that the courts will decide in my favor. I’m the chief election officer. I believe that it is too close to the November election.”