Missouri Supreme Court finds Denny Hoskins “was in contempt” over congressional maps

The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday found Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt for directing local election officials to use an illegal congressional map, but ultimately ruled he remedied the contempt by reversing his directive.

The unusual proceedings Thursday were the first of their kind in living memory. The judges brought a statewide elected official in to answer for his actions that violated the court’s orders.

The court brought Hoskins in twice: In the morning to hear arguments on whether it should find him in contempt, and in the afternoon to find out what he had done in response.

Chief Justice W. Brent Powell delivered the verdict at the end of the afternoon hearing, finding that “the secretary was in contempt of its Sept. 3, 2026, order, enjoining him from the implementation, utilization, and mandating of the of the use of the congressional district districting map (passed in 2025) for the November 2026 general election.”

 By sending out an email Thursday afternoon to local election officials, and a public statement that the map drawn in 2022 would be used for this year’s elections, Powell said “the secretary has therefore purged himself of said contempt.”

The ruling comes just two days short of the anniversary of a state Senate vote that passed a redistricting map intended to tilt this year’s congressional election in the 5th District to Republicans. That vote triggered the events that brought Hoskins before the court on Thursday.

Missourians will see a referendum on the map as Proposition A on the Nov. 3 ballot, where a “yes” vote will be to keep the map and a “no” vote will be to reject it. And the election will be held in the districts previous used, which is expected to return six Republicans and two Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives.

This story will be updated.