Trump Redistricting Push Stalls in South Carolina but Wins in Missouri Court
President Donald Trump’s effort to reshape U.S. House districts before the midterms produced split results Tuesday, as South Carolina senators blocked a redistricting push while Missouri’s top court upheld a Republican-backed congressional map.
The South Carolina setback came after the state House supported returning after the regular session to consider redistricting. One proposed map could have targeted the state’s only Democratic-held congressional seat. But the Senate also had to agree to reopen the issue, and senators refused to move forward.
Missouri moved in the opposite direction. The state Supreme Court upheld a new congressional map that could help Republicans gain a seat. The legal fight centered partly on changes to a Kansas City-based district represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a former Kansas City mayor.
The practical stakes are national. With control of the U.S. House closely contested, even one redrawn district can matter.
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The South Carolina and Missouri developments are part of a broader redistricting wave that has intensified after recent U.S. Supreme Court action involving race and congressional maps. Alabama is moving back toward a map with one majority-Black district after the Supreme Court overturned an order requiring two largely Black districts.
Virginia also delivered a major redistricting ruling last week when its Supreme Court struck down a Democratic-backed map that could have helped the party gain House seats.
The result is a rapidly shifting national map fight. Some Republican efforts are advancing, some are stalling, and courts are increasingly deciding which maps voters will use.
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