Bob Onder
Role at the time: U.S. Representative for Missouri's 3rd District and lead plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, interviewed on 97.1 FM Talk
Response to this claim
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.
“to invalidate a primary in which 1.2 million Missourians chose their primary candidates is really to invalidate our whole electoral process by judicial fiat. A very bad decision by the Missouri Supreme Court, an excellent decision yesterday by the Eighth Circuit.”
Radio interview posted by 97.1 FM Talk the morning after the Eighth Circuit's September 21 ruling. The host describes Onder as the lead plaintiff in the federal case. The quoted passage is Onder's answer about the primary election.
Why we used this label
The reference point is use of the 2025 map in the 2026 general election. Onder argues that using a different map in the general election would nullify the primary and praises the ruling that requires the 2025 map, which defends that use. The closest competing label, condemns, does not fit because his criticism targets the state court's decision, not the use of the map.