A federal appeals court on Monday ordered Missouri to use a Republican-backed congressional map in the 2026 general election, reopening a fight that has produced conflicting rulings from state and federal courts. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, which had rejected the map and directed the state to return to congressional boundaries adopted in 2022. The appeals court gave opponents one week to seek emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. Without further intervention, state and local election officials must proceed with the newer map. The map is expected to give Republicans one additional U.S. House seat by eliminating the Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. It was used during Missouri’s primary elections last month and has shaped candidate filings, campaign advertising and voter outreach for roughly a year. The appeals panel said using the 2025 map would minimize disruption for voters after a series of rapid legal changes. The judges wrote that confusion resulted from the Missouri Supreme Court’s late decision to replace the map after candidates had already filed and voters had cast ballots under the newer boundaries. The ruling came despite two recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court that appeared to halt the Republican-backed plan. On Sept. 8, Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected an emergency request from state officials seeking to overturn the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision to retain the 2022 map. Within minutes, a federal district judge granted a request from two Republican candidates to prevent the state from returning to those lines for the general election. Two days later, the Supreme Court paused that federal order. The justices did not explain their decision or note any dissent, leaving room for the 8th Circuit to interpret the order differently from many legal observers who believed it had effectively ended the map’s use. The Missouri Supreme Court had ruled unanimously, 7-0, that the Republican secretary of state had not lawfully put the 2025 map into effect. The dispute has since moved through nearly every level of the state and federal judiciary, creating uncertainty for election administrators and voters as ballots have already been printed. People Not Politicians Missouri, the group opposing the redistricting plan, said it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block the appeals court’s order. Executive Director Richard von Glahn said thousands of Missourians could vote before the new order takes effect and argued that officials should stop spending public money on litigation that could further disrupt the election. Judge James Loken, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Judge Justin Smith, appointed by President Donald Trump, supported the appeals court’s order. Judge David Stras, also a Trump appointee, said the group challenging the map did not have legal standing because its primary work involved placing the redistricting question on the ballot. That position appears to conflict with the Supreme Court’s most recent action, which provided relief to the redistricting opponents.