Latest
Category 2 Hurricane Isaias nears landfall, leading to production shut-insUkraine resumes attacks on Russian oil refineries, officials say, after brief truceBig Walk skipped Xbox to boycott Microsoft’s involvement with IsraelTrump’s ambassadors: the loyalists and allies at the center of controversyUS officials considering ad campaign to urge South African Afrikaners to emigrateGreetings from Mexico City, where a bullfighting ban doesn't stop this matador trainingTrump Says the Border Is Secure. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Keeps Declaring an Emergency.Category 2 Hurricane Isaias nears landfall, leading to production shut-insUkraine resumes attacks on Russian oil refineries, officials say, after brief truceBig Walk skipped Xbox to boycott Microsoft’s involvement with IsraelTrump’s ambassadors: the loyalists and allies at the center of controversyUS officials considering ad campaign to urge South African Afrikaners to emigrateGreetings from Mexico City, where a bullfighting ban doesn't stop this matador trainingTrump Says the Border Is Secure. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Keeps Declaring an Emergency.
← Signal: State & Power

Missouri Republicans Move to Replace 86-Year-Old Judicial Selection System After Court Defeats

Confirmed1 source · Oct 15, 2026

Frustrated by Supreme Court rulings blocking Republican priorities, GOP lawmakers and officials are seeking to replace the Missouri Plan with systems giving the governor or voters direct control over judge selection.

Missouri Republicans Move to Replace 86-Year-Old Judicial Selection System After Court Defeats
Image via ProPublica

What happened

After the Missouri Supreme Court blocked Secretary of State Denny Hoskins's effort to implement a new congressional map and rejected attempts to keep an abortion rights measure off the ballot, Republican lawmakers and officials have launched a coordinated push to overturn the Missouri Plan, the state's 86-year-old commission-based judicial selection system. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith called for electing Supreme Court judges; Republican Party executive director Miles Ross declared on X that "The Missouri Plan is done"; and State Rep. Cathy Jo Loy introduced legislation to replace it with gubernatorial appointment and Senate confirmation. Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin proposed a nonpartisan election model, though her bill stalled in committee. The Missouri Plan has survived previous repeal attempts in 1942 and 2012, when voters rejected changes by decisive margins.

Context

Missouri Republicans hold every statewide office, supermajorities in both legislative chambers, and six of eight congressional seats, yet have experienced repeated defeats at the ballot box and in court. Voters have rejected GOP efforts to weaken ballot initiatives, abortion restrictions, and congressional gerrymanders, with courts repeatedly protecting direct democracy and striking down ballot language prepared by Republican state officials. The recent conflict with Secretary of State Hoskins—in which the Supreme Court ordered him to use the old congressional map and held him in contempt when he refused—crystallized Republican frustration with judicial constraints on executive power. This reflects a broader national pattern in which elected officials have sought to weaken institutions limiting their authority, including attempts in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and New York. The stakes involve whether Missouri's courts retain independence from political pressure or become more directly responsive to partisan electoral control.