Sen. Rick Brattin calls the Supreme Court's decision "a travesty for Missouri voters"
Rick BrattinMissouri state senator, plaintiff in the federal lawsuit and Republican candidate in the 5th Congressional District, issuing a news release
In a news release, Brattin said he was grateful to the Eighth Circuit for stating "what common sense and the Constitution require" and called the U.S. Supreme Court's decision "a travesty for Missouri voters and for the integrity of our elections". He said voters who took part in the primary will be moved into districts where they had no voice in choosing the nominees, and that the responsibility for what he called chaos rests first with the Missouri Supreme Court.
Responding to
Because Missouri held its August primary under the 2025 map, the U.S. Constitution requires it to use that same map in the November general election, and using the 2022 map instead would violate Article I, Section 2 and equal protection.
“I am grateful to the Eighth Circuit for squarely addressing the merits of this case and stating plainly what common sense and the Constitution require: voters should not choose their nominees under one congressional map and then be forced into entirely different districts for the general election. … Today’s Supreme Court decision is a travesty for Missouri voters and for the integrity of our elections. Missouri will now conduct a congressional primary under one map and a general election under another. … The responsibility for this chaos rests first and foremost with the Missouri Supreme Court.”
Original post
Original text
Reporting
Reporting
Other statements by Rick Brattin in this case
- Sen. Rick Brattin says voters "should be able to vote in the same districts for the general election"Earlier: Defended or excused
Where this statement fits
Should Missouri be allowed to use its 2025 congressional map in the 2026 general election?
Missouri lawmakers passed a new congressional map, House Bill 1, in September 2025, and the State used it in the August 4, 2026 primary. On September 3, 2026, the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled unanimously that a referendum petition kept the map from taking effect and that the 2022 map remains in force for the November general election. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and President Donald Trump said in early September that the primary map should be used in November, and the Eighth Circuit held on September 21 that using the 2022 map violates the U.S. Constitution. People Not Politicians, the Campaign Legal Center and the ACLU argued that Missouri law makes the 2022 map the only valid map and that ballots had been mailed under it. On September 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned per curiam order that records no dissent, stayed the federal injunctions, said that under state law the 2022 map must be used, and said lower courts should not require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 election. Kehoe called that decision disappointing and said Missouri will follow the order.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from Brattin's @RickBrattin account, which links to rickbrattin.com, reproducing his news release on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling.
Original text
About this source
Unsigned per curiam order on an application that Circuit Justice Brett Kavanaugh referred to the full Court. It stays the Eighth Circuit's September 21 mandate and September 22 order and the district court's September 21 and 22 injunctions, keeps the Court's September 10 stay in place, and says the lower courts should not prohibit use of the 2022 map or require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. The text of the order shows no separate opinion or noted dissent.
Reporting
About this source
Report on the Supreme Court's September 25 order, with the sequence of court actions since September 3, the filings of Missouri and the plaintiffs, and county election officials' account of absentee voting under the 2022 map.
Reporting
About this source
KOMU reports the Eighth Circuit ruling and quotes Sen. Rick Brattin's full statement. The Missouri Independent and KSHB report the first sentence of the same statement.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Eighth Circuit's mandate and the district court's injunctions on September 25 and said lower courts should not require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 election. Brattin, Rep. Bob Onder and two voters had sued Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in federal court on September 4. On September 21, after the Eighth Circuit's ruling, Brattin said voters "should be able to vote in the same districts for the general election".
After the quotation
The Missouri Independent reported that the deadline to seek certiorari in the Eighth Circuit case is December 21.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is use of the 2025 map in the 2026 general election. Brattin says voters should not be moved into different districts after choosing nominees in the primary and calls the ruling a travesty, which defends use of the 2025 map. The closest competing label, condemns, does not fit because his criticism is aimed at the courts' decisions and not at the use of the 2025 map.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Supreme Court of Missouri, Supreme Court of the United States
More from this case
Read the full caseRichard von Glahn says People Not Politicians is "done with corrupt politicians trying to force their map into effect"
“We are done with corrupt politicians trying to force their map into effect outside the process outlined in the Missouri constitution. We have said from the beginning, people, not politicians will be the final deciders on this DC power grab. We are moving forward to vote NO on Proposition A.”Read statement
The National Democratic Redistricting Committee says the Supreme Court "denied Missouri Republicans' third attempt to jam through their 2025 gerrymander"
National Democratic Redistricting Committee
“BREAKING: SCOTUS just denied Missouri Republicans' third attempt to jam through their 2025 gerrymander! 👏 This reaffirms what the state's highest court already said weeks ago — the 2025 map was never the law. Missouri Republicans tried to silence voters. Today, they lost.”Read statement
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver says the Supreme Court "put this shameful and unlawful scheme to rest"
“For more than a year, state officials have spent precious time, energy, and resources on an effort to silence the voices of Missouri voters and steal a congressional seat. Tonight, after more than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say, the Supreme Court has put this shameful and unlawful scheme to rest. Power to the people.”Read statement
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- Sen. Rick Brattin calls the Supreme Court's decision "a travesty for Missouri voters"
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The Dispute Index. "Sen. Rick Brattin calls the Supreme Court's decision "a travesty for Missouri voters"". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2723-in-a-news-release-brattin-said-he-was