Missouri Supreme Court rejects attorney general’s attempt to stay map ruling

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Supreme Court of Missouri has rejected the Missouri attorney general's attempt to appeal its decision striking down a new congressional map to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Brent Powell signed the order, which simply states, "Respondent's motion for a stay of injunction pending emergency appeal and application for stay to the Supreme Court of the United States overruled."

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway posted on social media Thursday night that she planned to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and that asking the Missouri court for a stay of its injunction was the first step.

The Missouri court's decision struck down a map passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly last year and forced a November vote on the map. The map pushed by the White House and approved by the General Assembly split up the Democrat-friendly Fifth District, subsuming the Kansas City district into other districts with large rural populations.

Republicans responded by emphasizing that Missouri voters cast ballots in the August primary based on the General Assembly's map, not the map approved in 2022 after the census.

Hanaway had asked the court for a stay pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or an "alternative stay" to allow the high court time to review the case.

Check back for updates to this developing story.