President Donald Trump scored a major redistricting win as a Missouri judge ruled the GOP-backed map splitting Kansas City cannot face a referendum.

A Missouri judge ruled Wednesday that a referendum cannot override the state legislature’s authority to enact congressional maps, clearing the way for the state to use a Republican-backed map in November’s general election.

The decision was a win for Republicans, who have been pushing for the new map in an effort to help maintain the party’s narrow control in the U.S. House. in November.

A Missouri judge ruled Wednesday against voters seeking to put a Republican redistricting effort in the state to a referendum.

The ruling, a win for Republicans, will almost certainly be decided by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, left, the state's top elections official, speaks with people who filed their candidacy for Missouri offices at the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Jefferson City.

Missouri Republicans cleared a significant hurdle Wednesday when a state judge ruled the party’s redrawn congressional map can stand for the November midterms. The New York Times reported that Judge Daniel Green of the Cole County Circuit Court rejected an effort to place the new districts before voters in a statewide referendum.

The push came after progressives in the solidly Republican state found success with ballot measures related to abortion, health care and the minimum wage.

A judge upheld Secretary of State's determination that the ballot measure violated the state's single-subject rule and U.S. Constitution.