GOP Scores Critical Victory Ahead Of Midterms As Judge Rules On Key State’s New Map

A Missouri judge ruled last week that Gov. Mike Kehoe acted within his constitutional authority when he called the special legislative session that produced Missouri’s new congressional map.

Lawmakers used the August session to redraw district lines in a move designed to benefit Republicans. The Missouri NAACP sued state officials, including Kehoe, in September, seeking to block the session. The case was not heard before legislators convened.

The lawsuit argued that the Missouri Constitution permits special sessions only for “extraordinary occasions” and claimed Kehoe’s justification did not meet that standard.

Judge Christopher Limbaugh rejected that argument. In his ruling, Limbaugh said the governor has broad constitutional discretion to determine what constitutes an extraordinary occasion.

Article IV, Section 9 of the Missouri Constitution states that “on extraordinary occasions,” the governor may convene the General Assembly by proclamation and specify the matters lawmakers may address.

Kehoe called the special session on Aug. 29, 2025, instructing legislators to focus on congressional redistricting and revisions to the state’s initiative petition process.

RELATED: SCOTUS Issues Ruling On California’s New Congressional Map

The resulting map has become the target of multiple legal challenges. Analysts say it could shift Missouri’s U.S. House delegation to a 7-to-1 Republican majority. Republicans currently hold six of the state’s eight congressional seats.

The ruling comes two weeks after the Supreme Court cleared California to use its newly drawn congressional map in this year’s midterm elections, a win for Democrats as both parties battle for control of the U.S. House.

Voters approved the map last year after Democrats in Sacramento moved to counter a GOP-friendly redistricting plan in Texas, which President Trump backed as part of a push to protect Republicans’ razor-thin House majority.

In an unsigned order, the high court rejected an emergency bid from the California Republican Party to block the map. State Republicans argued the lines were unconstitutional because race, not politics, drove the process. A lower federal court had already tossed that claim.

The ruling came three months after the Supreme Court allowed Texas to proceed with its own redistricting plan, a decision that touched off a nationwide gerrymandering arms race by boosting Republicans’ odds of picking up as many as five additional House seats.

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