The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday regarding a legal challenge to new congressional boundaries, marking one of the earliest redistricting victories for former President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, legislators in Louisiana and South Carolina are deliberating whether to join other Republican-controlled states in redrawing U.S. House maps before November’s midterm elections.
The nationwide redistricting fight that started 10 months ago has grown more intense as Election Day approaches. A recent Supreme Court decision that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections has given states new grounds to attempt eliminating districts with significant minority populations.
Following Texas, Missouri became the second GOP-led state to respond to Trump’s call for congressional map changes aimed at helping Republicans secure more House seats. The Missouri Supreme Court is examining whether the revised districts meet state constitutional requirements for compactness and if they can stay in effect for this year’s elections despite a petition drive demanding a public vote.
South Carolina Republican lawmakers face a strategic decision about whether redrawing their state’s only Democratic-controlled district could lead to complete Republican dominance or potentially backfire by creating more competitive races for Democrats. State senators must determine whether to consider a redistricting proposal from the House after the legislative session concludes Thursday.
Louisiana is also reviewing congressional redistricting following a Supreme Court decision that struck down a majority-Black district as illegal racial gerrymandering. The state has already delayed its May 16 congressional primaries, with the number of seats Republicans will target during redistricting still uncertain.
Alabama is also preparing to modify its congressional districts for this year’s elections after the U.S. Supreme Court Monday reversed an order requiring the state to use a map containing two predominantly Black districts.
GOP strategists believe they could secure up to 14 additional House seats through new maps already approved in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats anticipate gaining six seats from revised maps in California and Utah. The Virginia Supreme Court recently blocked a redistricting attempt that might have created four more winnable Democratic seats.
A South Carolina House committee was scheduled to consider Tuesday whether to advance a congressional redistricting proposal for full chamber debate. The House also appears ready to approve legislation potentially moving the June 9 congressional primaries to August, allowing time for new district implementation, despite some absentee and military ballots already being submitted.
Any redistricting effort must also pass the Senate, where support remains uncertain. Two-thirds of senators must agree before Thursday’s regular General Assembly session ends to permit later legislative action on redistricting.
Trump posted on social media Monday that he was monitoring the redistricting vote closely, encouraging South Carolina senators to “be bold and courageous” and postpone House primaries to enable new district creation.
Despite having a supermajority, several Republican senators doubt the proposed map guarantees GOP victory in the seat held by veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. They worry that relocating enough Democratic voters to other districts could backfire, potentially resulting in a 5-2 or even 4-3 Republican advantage.
Some senators also question the fairness of Republicans controlling all seats in a state where Democratic presidential candidates have received at least 40% of votes in every election this century, regardless of Trump’s endorsement of the new map.
Republican State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, who leads Louisiana’s Senate redistricting committee, said his panel plans to vote Tuesday on a U.S. House map, with full Senate consideration expected Thursday.
The committee is reviewing multiple options, including versions that would favor Democrats in just one district or none at all. Kleinpeter indicated that a map eliminating all majority-Black districts would face significant court challenges.
Last Friday, dozens of people urged lawmakers to preserve two majority-Black districts during an exhausting nine-hour hearing featuring civil rights advocates and the only four Black congressmen elected to represent Louisiana since Reconstruction ended.
Missouri’s current U.S. House delegation includes six Republicans and two Democrats under a map the Republican-controlled legislature created following the 2020 census. With Trump’s support, Republican state leaders adopted new boundaries last September designed to improve their chances of capturing an additional seat by targeting a Kansas City district represented by longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the city’s first Black mayor.
The revised House map divides portions of Kansas City among neighboring Republican districts while extending the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th District eastward into heavily Republican rural territory. A state judge in March dismissed claims that the map violates constitutional compactness standards, determining that the new districts are more compact on average, even though the 5th District individually is not. That ruling was appealed to the state Supreme Court.
A second case also argued Tuesday before the state Supreme Court claims the new districts should have been automatically halted in December when opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures demanding a statewide referendum.
However, Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins argue the new districts can only be suspended if and after Hoskins confirms the petition meets constitutional standards and contains sufficient valid signatures. Hoskins has until August 4, Missouri’s primary election date, to make that determination.
A state judge in March sided with the Republican position while also ruling that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue and had filed prematurely.
