Maryland is pushing ahead with efforts to potentially redraw its congressional map to favor Democrats in time for the 2026 midterm elections, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Tuesday.
“While other states are determining whether or not they have fair maps, so will Maryland,” Mr. Moore, a Democrat and a possible presidential candidate in 2028, said in a video statement.
Mr. Moore’s gambit sets up a potential clash with the legislature, given that Bill Ferguson, the State Senate president and a fellow Democrat, has expressed concerns that any attempts at redistricting would be “too risky” and hamstring the state’s ability to take on the Trump administration.
Maryland’s congressional delegation now has seven Democrats and one Republican, Representative Andy Harris. But as Republican states, starting with Texas, have heeded President Trump’s calls to redraw congressional maps in order to squeeze out as much partisan advantage as possible, pressure has been growing on Democratic-controlled states to follow suit.
On Tuesday, California voters are poised to pass Proposition 50, which would redraw the state’s map to help Democrats flip as many as five more seats in Congress. Democratic legislative leaders in Virginia, who currently hold a razor-thin majority, recently said they wanted to add two or three congressional seats. Maryland could join them soon.
According to a statement released by Mr. Moore’s office, the state will convene a five-member panel, called the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, chaired by U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat. The other members include Mr. Ferguson; the speaker of the State House, Adrienne Jones; a former Democratic attorney general who served under a Republican governor; and a nonpartisan mayor.
The panel is expected to hold public hearings before making recommendations to the governor and Maryland General Assembly by the end of the year, according to a Democrat involved in the redistricting discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly about them.
“We have a president that treats our democracy with utter contempt,” Senator Alsobrooks said in a statement. “We have a Republican Party that is trying to rig the rules in response to their terrible polling.”
In recent months, as pressure grew on the state to eliminate Mr. Harris’s district to add another Democratic seat amid the redistricting wars, Mr. Ferguson, the State Senate president, emerged as a key opposition figure.
Last month, he sent a letter to his colleagues saying that his chamber would not take up redistricting, citing legal concerns, a difficult timeline and a belief that “the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic.”
“The certainty of our existing map,” he explained, “would be undermined.”
David W. Chen is a Times reporter focused on state legislatures, state level policymaking and the political forces behind them.
Nick Corasaniti is a Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections.
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