People wait to cast their ballots during early voting at the Floyd County Elections & Voter Registration Georgia’s 14th Congressional District to in Rome, Georgia, U.S. February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, is facing off against the state Supreme Court, which could hold him in contempt.
Democracy Docket noted that Hoskins had until 1 p.m. Wednesday to convince the Missouri Supreme Court why he shouldn’t be held in contempt of court for violating its ruling. Now Hoskins is begging the federal courts to step in and rescue him from contempt.
Democracy Docket called it "an unexpected move," as he asked the federal courts for help.
A Kansas City Star editorial board member is calling the ordeal a "constitutional crisis."
The state's high court ruled last week that he could not use the GOP-drawn maps for the November election, but he has decided to ignore it. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was then asked to weigh in, and he also sided with the lower courts. There are just a few days left before mail-in ballots are set to go out to those overseas and in the military, KCTV 5 reported.
On Tuesday, Hoskins sent an email to election officials, instructing them to use the map that the court ruled against, despite the ongoing court battles and the Sept 3. ruling against the GOP map.
The U.S. Supreme Court then refused to pause the state Supreme Court’s order.
"It appeared the gerrymander would not go into effect and its opponents had resoundingly defeated it. But then, just minutes later, a federal district court judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing Missouri from using its previous map," Democracy Docket explained.
Hoskins said he could ignore the state court because federal courts take precedence over state courts under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
His problem, however, is that Missouri’s top court could say that Hoskins violated its order and hold him in contempt.
Kavanaugh didn't rule on the matter itself with his emergency docket decision. Instead, he simply denied Missouri officials’ request to pause the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling and didn't refer the matter to the full Supreme Court.
MAGA was furious, referring to Kavanaugh as a traitor.
Right before the deadline, Hoskins begged a federal district court to stop the Missouri Supreme Court from holding him in contempt after he defied the court's order.
"Hoskins has now missed the court-ordered deadline of 1 p.m. today to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt," said Democracy Docket as the ordeal unfolded on Wednesday afternoon.