{"id":29189,"date":"2026-01-06T13:51:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29189"},"modified":"2026-01-06T13:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:51:56","slug":"missouri-supreme-court-removes-judge-known-for-getting-political","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=29189","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Supreme Court Removes Judge Known for Getting Political"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Missouri Supreme Court voted Monday to remove Michael Thornhill, a judge in St. Charles County, from the bench. In a unanimous ruling, the state\u2019s highest court said Thornhill could not continue serving as a judge, citing repeated political statements he made from the courtroom, including remarks about candidates and ballot measures he supported.<\/p>\n

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Thornhill, a Republican, drew national attention earlier this year after photographs of him dressed as Elvis Presley circulated online,\u00a0PBS St. Louis reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court ruling stated Thornhill \u201cfailed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom, in his chambers, and in the courthouse and further failed to maintain the dignity appropriate of judicial office,\u201d due to his choice of attire and habit of playing Presley\u2019s music on his phone.<\/p>\n

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According to the ruling, Thornhill had initially agreed to resign following a six-month suspension without pay and an additional 18-month period during which he would be permitted to return to the bench. The court said in Monday\u2019s decision, however, that he must step down immediately.<\/p>\n

Thornhill sought to revisit the terms of that agreement in November, arguing that he had suffered \u201cpublic, irreparable harm to his reputation\u201d because of media coverage surrounding the case. His attorneys asked the Missouri Supreme Court to void the original agreement and reduce the suspension from six months to 60 days, a request the court unanimously rejected.<\/p>\n

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Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) will appoint Thornhill\u2019s replacement in the coming weeks, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile,\u00a0the U.S. Supreme Court case<\/a>\u00a0about the Voting Rights Act could be the Republicans\u2019 best chance to keep the House in 2026, and it\u2019s putting some top Democratic leaders in a tough spot.<\/p>\n

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If the Supreme Court strikes down race-based districts, the GOP could gain nine or more seats in Congress, according to some estimates. That seems likely, since most of the conservative justices said they were against the Civil Rights era restriction during oral arguments two months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s potentially really important for 2026,\u201d Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato\u2019s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told the New York Post.<\/p>\n

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is what we\u2019re talking about. It says that no law or map can deny someone the right to vote because of their race or color. In practice, Democrats have used the law to build blue districts in largely red states.<\/p>\n

Kondik explained, \u201cIf it comes and it completely changes our understanding of Section 2 and doesn\u2019t protect these districts anymore, you could have a significant impact. You could see several states in the South potentially eliminating Democratic districts in states like Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 1938, the party that controls the White House has lost House seats in all but two elections. Because the GOP has such a small majority, this could mean they will lose power. The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling could completely change that situation, however.<\/p>\n

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If the hight court completely guts the Voting Rights Act\u2019s race-based districts, Republicans could cut the number of seats that Democrats hold in the South in half, according to an analysis by Nate Cohn of the New York Times.<\/p>\n

That includes nine pickups that are directly related to the end of Section 2. But there are a lot of things we don\u2019t know, including some political dangers for Republicans.<\/p>\n

If the court scraps Voting Rights Act districts, red states could make moderate swing seats where Blue Dog Democrats could live, especially during a blue wave cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally am not putting a number on it because we don\u2019t know when it\u2019s coming. We don\u2019t know what it\u2019ll say. And we don\u2019t necessarily know how states will respond,\u201d Kondik said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n