The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the state’s new congressional map, handing Republicans a significant legal victory ahead of the 2026 midterms. Two groups of voters had sued to stop the map, arguing that the newly drawn voting districts were not properly shaped, did not make sense geographically, and did not have equal populations. However, the high court agreed with a lower court’s decision, ruling that the challengers failed to present sufficient evidence to overturn a map drawn by lawmakers. The decision came the same day Florida Republicans won a similar legal battle. In that state, a judge rejected a last-minute attempt by liberal groups to block Florida’s new congressional map before the 2026 elections. The dispute in Missouri was over a 2025 law called House Bill 1, which replaced the state’s older voting map with a new one. The critics argued that the new map violated state constitutional rules, which require that voting districts be tightly packed and equal in population. Most of the fighting was about Districts 4, 5, and 6 around Kansas City. Critics—including Kansas City Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas—argued that the map unfairly split the city and cut neighborly communities apart. The Missouri Supreme Court, however, made it clear that its role was limited to determining whether the map complied with constitutional requirements, not whether it was politically fair. The lawsuit did not allege partisan gerrymandering. During a four-day trial, experts used math formulas to measure how tightly packed the districts were. The data showed that the new map was actually shaped just as well as, or better than, Missouri’s older maps from 2012 and 2022. In fact, the new map kept local areas together better by splitting up fewer counties and cities than the previous map. Ultimately, the judges reviewed all the evidence—including population figures, local history, and expert opinions—and concluded that the map complied with the rules. The Florida win could give the GOP four additional seats; the Missouri win could provide another one.