Conflicting court rulings throw Missouri's congressional map into chaos

In the months before Missouri's 2026 congressional races take shape, the state finds itself caught between competing judicial commands over how its district lines should be drawn. A federal judge has ordered officials to proceed with a Republican-favoring map, yet other rulings cast doubt on that same map's legitimacy — and the Supreme Court, declining to referee, has left the contradiction standing. Redistricting has always been as much about power as geography, and Missouri's current impasse is a reminder that the rules governing democratic competition are themselves contested terrain, shape