2026 Midterms State GuideMissouri
Hold on to your gooey butter cake and random oversized objects.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Missouri, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified.
A prayer for Missouri
God our Father, guide Missouri as the midterms approach. Even with deeply divisive issues on the ballot, draw near to voters and unite them in the things that matter most. Give them unconditional love for their neighbors. Teach them to prioritize the good of their communities and the glory of Your name above all. May they cast their votes with humble conviction and hold the outcome with open hands.
Read the whole prayerUpdated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your gooey butter cake and random oversized objects, and let’s get into it.
Missouri at a glance
Missouri votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for all 8 U.S. House seats and five statewide ballot measures.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Voter registration
- Oct. 7: Voter registration deadline.
- Absentee voting
- Sept. 22: Absentee voting begins for voters with an approved excuse, such as being out of town on Election Day.
- U.S. House
- 8 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 5
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Missouri certifies the results
Results become official once Missouri certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- Aug. 4Primaries This date has passed.
- Sept. 22Absentee voting begins for voters with an approved excuse, such as being out of town on Election Day. This date has passed.
- Oct. 7Voter registration deadline. This date has passed.
- Oct. 20 to Nov. 2Anyone can vote absentee in person, no excuse needed, at a location set by your local election authority. Voting ends at 5 p.m. Nov. 2. This date has passed.
- Oct. 21 (5 p.m.)Deadline for mailed absentee ballot requests to be received by the local election authority. This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day, polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. This date has passed.
What’s at stake
Missourians have experienced some whiplash this cycle. In 2025, lawmakers passed a congressional map that gave Republicans a 7R-1D edge, but Missouri’s high court ruled that the map couldn't be used without voter approval, reverting the state to 2022’s 6R-2D map for November. Missouri Republicans tried to get a federal court to reinstate the 2025 map, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked that, locking in the 2022 map for this fall. Voters will have a chance to thumbs-up or thumbs-down the map at the polls, which won’t change November’s districts but will impact the 2028 landscape. Beyond maps, most Missourians are thinking about money and medicine. In an August 2026 SLU/You Gov poll, 49% of voters believe the economy should be the state’s top priority, while 19% believe it should be healthcare, followed by education (13%) and infrastructure (10%). More said Missouri is on the wrong track (48%) than the right track (39%); 13% weren't sure.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
This year, courts said snip snap to Missouri’s map. The Show-Me State used a Republican-favored congressional map for the primaries, which the U.S. Supreme Court then blocked three times for use in November. Missourians will have to vote under the old map in the general election despite having a different landscape in the primaries.
- Shadrach’s big picture
Missouri will elect eight candidates to the U.S. House. Under the
old newcurrent map, Republicans are expected to hold six of those seats (down from seven under the map used in the primaries). - Open seats
One: MO-6’s Rep. Graves (R) is retiring from office.
- The re-redistricting effect
Because the 2025 map is on hold pending Proposition A, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's (D-5) Kansas City district keeps its current lines for November. The 2025 map would have split Kansas City's Democratic voters across three Republican-leaning districts.
- Competitive districts
No Missouri district is considered competitive. MO-1 and MO-5 are considered solidly Democratic, MO-2 is likely Republican, and the rest are solidly Republican. Still, no districts are guaranteed to either party.
Statewide ballot measures
5 to read before you go. Tap one to open it.
This amendment would 1) repeal the constitutional right to reproductive freedom; 2) prohibit abortions except in cases of "medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest," and permit abortions in cases of rape or incest only through 12 weeks of gestation; 3) prohibit gender transition surgeries for minors, as well as the prescription or administration of cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to minors, with an exception for treatments "unrelated to the purpose of a gender transition.”
Voting yessupports repealing the constitutional right to reproductive freedom, banning abortion except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape, or incest (rape and incest only through 12 weeks), and banning gender transition surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers for minorsVoting noopposes this constitutional amendment, keeping the existing constitutional right to reproductive freedom, and not adding provisions that prohibit abortion and gender transition surgeries and proceduresMissouri voters can currently pass their own laws and constitutional changes directly (without the legislature's involvement) by gathering enough signatures to get a measure on the ballot. Right now, lawmakers can turn around and change or repeal those citizen-passed laws relatively easily. This amendment would make that much harder: lawmakers could only change or repeal a citizen-passed law if 80% of both the House and Senate agreed to send the change back to voters, and voters approved it. It would also declare the citizen initiative process itself a constitutional right, and block the legislature from making it harder to get future initiatives on the ballot (like requiring more signatures or giving people less time to collect them).
Voting yessupports letting lawmakers change or repeal a citizen-passed law only if 80% of both the House and Senate send the change back to voters and voters approve it, making the citizen initiative process a constitutional right, and blocking the legislature from making future initiatives harder to get on the ballotVoting noopposes this constitutional amendment, keeping lawmakers able to change or repeal citizen-passed laws as they can now, and leaving the initiative process without these constitutional protectionsThis amendment would create a permanent public endowment fund managed by the state, which would be invested by the state with the goal of generating earnings that could replace tax revenue and eventually eliminate state taxes.
Voting yessupports creating a permanent, state-managed public endowment fund, invested with the goal of generating earnings that could replace tax revenue and eventually eliminate state taxesVoting noopposes this constitutional amendment, so the endowment fund is not created and the state keeps funding itself as it does nowThis amendment would require the election of county sheriffs to four-year terms in most counties, with the exception of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County.
Voting yessupports requiring most counties to elect their sheriffs to four-year terms, with St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County exemptVoting noopposes this constitutional amendment, leaving the election of county sheriffs to state law rather than the constitutionThis referendum decides whether the 2025 Republican-drawn map (suspended by the Missouri Supreme Court pending this vote) takes effect going forward. The map makes the most changes to the Kansas City area and gives Republicans a 7R-1D edge.
Voting yessupports putting the 2025 Republican-drawn congressional map, which gives Republicans a 7R-1D edge, into effect going forward (it would not change November’s elections)Voting noopposes this referendum, blocking the 2025 map and keeping the current 6R-2D map
Also on the ballot
Other races Missouri voters will decide.
- State Senate
- State House
- State Supreme Court
- Intermediate appellate courts
- School boards
- Municipal government
- Local ballot measures
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
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Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
From the newsroom
How TPO has covered Missouri this cycle. Tap one to read it here.
Green Light, Red Light
Read the full day’s newsThe Supreme Court approved the Trump Administration’s voter verification system.
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database was created in 1986 to help agencies check the immigration status of people applying for public benefits (think: Social Security). In Friday’s 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court approved the Trump Administration’s request to use SAVE to verify voter rolls as well, overturning a lower-court order that said SAVE could wrongly remove eligible voters.
The impact on November’s midterm elections is likely limited. The order allows states to voluntarily check voters’ citizenship status through SAVE, but notes that systematically purging voter rolls is illegal within 90 days of an election.
Meanwhile, the Supremes struck down Missouri’s GOP-drawn congressional map for good on Friday, warning that switching maps after ballots have been mailed would “usher in electoral chaos.” (Catch up on the MO map saga).
__CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Whether justice is served or subverted in American courts, we can count on perfect justice and inexhaustible mercy from the courts of heaven. The Lord’s verdict will restore what sin has broken.“The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.”
Deuteronomy 32:4 (CSB) (read full passage)SCOTUS blocked Missouri from using its new congressional map in the midterms. The Republican-proposed map, which could’ve added another GOP House seat, was already used in Show-Me-State primary voting. Over 300,000 Missourians petitioned against redistricting, calling it a “power grab”; the RNC said the ruling “pulls the rug out from under” the voters who cast primary ballots last month.
One story from that day’s newsletter.
Read the full day’s newsThe Sunshine State basked in the primary spotlight this week. State Rep. Nixon (D) took the win in the blue Senate primary, adding a tally for Democratic socialists. Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Donalds and red-turned-blue former U.S. Rep. Jolly won the gubernatorial noms. Up and to the left, a Missouri court allowed a new GOP-drawn district map to be used this November.
One story from that day’s newsletter.
Read the full day’s news
A prayer for Missouri
God our Father, guide Missouri as the midterms approach. Even with deeply divisive issues on the ballot, draw near to voters and unite them in the things that matter most. Give them unconditional love for their neighbors. Teach them to prioritize the good of their communities and the glory of Your name above all. May they cast their votes with humble conviction and hold the outcome with open hands.
Shield candidates from the temptation to win at any cost. May they lead with humility and remember that the people they seek to represent belong to You before they belong to any party. If they win, surround them with wise counsel and guide them toward decisions that serve their constituents. For those who lose, may they do so with dignity and a unifying spirit.
Guard the hearts and minds of Missourians weighed down by noise, grieved by division, or afraid of tomorrow. For You are not shaken by elections; You govern governors, and Your kingdom will not be moved.
Amen.