Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins says the lengthy legal fight over the state’s congressional map will be remembered long after this year’s election.
The U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected efforts backed by Hoskins to use Missouri’s new 2025 congressional map for the November election, ruling that changing district lines after ballots had already been distributed would create “electoral chaos.” As a result, Missouri voters will cast ballots on Nov. 3 using the congressional district boundaries first used in 2022.
In an interview with Missourinet, Hoskins said he was disappointed by the outcome but believes the legal battle made history.
“We were trailblazing. This is a process that had never been played out before, especially in the public eye. There has never been really a referendum, at least in the last 100 years on a congressional redistricting map. And so someday there will be history books that are written about this and just the legal process that ensued,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins also pushed back against suggestions that his effort was aimed at helping President Donald Trump, who publicly criticized the Supreme Court’s decision.
“No, in fact, I know a lot of people have said, you just did this for President Trump. No, I did this because I think it was the right decision. I was supporting our legislature as far as the 2025 map. I was supporting Governor Kehoe, who signed House Bill 1, the 2025 map, into effect,” he said.
The legal dispute also led to a contempt ruling against Hoskins by the Missouri Supreme Court after he moved forward with implementing the 2025 map while litigation continued. Hoskins said that decision remains one of his biggest disappointments from the case.
“I jokingly said I had a choice of either going to Cole County Jail or federal prison. But because of the Supremacy Clause, where if you had a conflicting state law and federal law, the federal law always trump’s state law. And so ultimately, I was following the Supremacy Clause. I was very disappointed in the Missouri Supreme Court that they ruled me in contempt of court,” Hoskins said.
While defending his actions, Hoskins acknowledged one regret in how he handled the process. The Supreme Court noted he could have acted months earlier on the petition signatures tied to the map challenge.
“I certified those signatures on August 4th at 4 p.m. One of my regrets is I did that too early. I wish I would have waited till 5 p.m. to verify those signatures that day,” Hoskins said.
Despite the legal setbacks, Hoskins said he continues to believe he made the correct decision in supporting the legislature’s map and carrying out what he believed the law required. Missouri voters will now decide congressional races using the 2022 district boundaries when they head to the polls in November.
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