Missouri legislature

A group called "Stop The Ban" is already receiving six-figure donations for its effort to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal abortion rights in Missouri. The amendment was written by Republican lawmakers and is set to appear on the 2026 ballot.

Frank White Jr. has been unseated as Jackson County Executive after losing a special recall election on Tuesday. However, he's fighting the election in court, while county legislators move forward with picking his replacement — a process that could include little public input.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins will have to rewrite the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment a third time, because the judge ruled that it "fails to adequately alert voters" that the measure would ban abortion.

The Democratic National Committee announced it will send people and money to Missouri, to help a referendum effort aimed at blocking a new congressional map from going into effect.

The fourth lawsuit to be filed over the recent redistricting plan, this one argues that the Missouri Constitution does not allow lawmakers to revise congressional districts without new census data. It also argues that the districts are not legal because they stretch for hundreds of miles across the state.

A lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Missouri lawmakers unconstitutionally split residential property into different classes, choosing which counties would get a property tax cap, and how much, on “simply the whim of individual legislators.”

The new map breaks the Kansas-City-based district of Democrat Emmanuel Cleaver into three in an effort to make it more Republican-leaning. It's already facing a torrent of legal challenges plus an initiative petition campaign to defeat it at the ballot.

At an event in Columbia, Gov. Mike Kehoe said he is confident he was on firm legal ground when he called lawmakers into a special session to redraw maps to benefit Republicans. But with three lawsuits pending, the governor said it was up to the courts to prove him right.

The case before the Missouri Supreme Court comes after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar law in Tennessee that bars transgender minors from getting gender-affirming care.

A recent Missouri law giving the attorney general the sole power to appeal preliminary injunctions in cases involving state law is unconstitutional, a judge ruled this week. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway plans to appeal.

Even as court cases seek to throw out the new redistricting plan approved in the special session, a referendum campaign to put it before voters is gaining momentum. At the same time, campaign committees are preparing to battle over the initiative process.

Missouri Democrats gathered in St. Louis on Saturday for their annual Truman Dinner, the biggest event of the year for a party that remains on the outs in state politics. The 2026 midterms will also include critical votes on a proposed abortion ban and a measure making it harder to change the constitution.