Maryland is among the states responding to Republican efforts to redistrict in order to bolster the Republican majority in Congress.
Following efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw their state’s congressional maps prior to the 2026 midterm elections — an effort specifically demanded by President Donald Trump in recent interviews — states led by both major political parties are now responding in turn with proposed legislation and ballot measures to expand their redistricting options.
In July, Trump told C-SPAN that Texas’ redistricting would potentially allow Republicans to add as many as five seats in the House of Representatives, while also noting that several states led by Democrats were likely to redistrict in response.
Maryland, indeed, responded.
A plane flew above Maryland’s State Capitol on Aug. 4 with a trailing banner reading “Mess With Texas,” sending a clear reference to redistricting efforts demanded by President Donald Trump, and a call to action for Maryland legislators to step in.
Maryland has eight congressional districts, represented by seven Democrats and one Republican.
Some Maryland Democrats, including Del. Julian Ivey (D- District 47), have considered re-drawing the state’s congressional maps.
“Everything has to be on the table. Even if it takes amending our state constitution, we can’t keep playing nice with these MAGA Republicans,” Ivey told The Informer.
District 23 Del. Adrian Boafo emphasized the need to “put up some fight in this moment.”
In addition, Del. David Moon (D- District 20) introduced a bill to give the governor or the General Assembly the authority to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts if any other state does mid-decade redistricting.
“If one of the 50 states decides to break from the norm and redistrict whenever they want, that’s just not a sustainable system, unless every other state also exercises that same right,” Moon, who recently saw several Texas legislators during the recent National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Boston, told Maryland Matters. “Ideally, once everyone has the same power, nobody exercises it, because it’s destabilizing the Congress itself to have the prospect of redistricting happen every election cycle.”
Alexis Solis, who is running for Congress in the 5th Congressional District, said she is committed to supporting fair, transparent, and nonpartisan redistricting.
“As a candidate for Maryland’s 5th District, I believe we’re entering a critical moment in redistricting not just here in our state but nationally as well. Across the country, Republicans are pushing for mid-decade map changes in states like Texas, Ohio, and Florida,” Solis told The Informer. “Democrats in places like California and New York are even considering similar, though legally fraught, counter moves.”
She also encouraged residents to stay vigilant, as redrawing could shift them into a neighboring district.
“Our district remains safely Democratic, but any shifts in mapmaking rules could reshape regional dynamics and ultimately affect representation and accountability,” Solis continued. “When maps reflect communities instead of politics, everyone in our district benefits.”
Prior to the 2022 election, Maryland legislators approved a congressional map that was redone with some, including Judge Lynne Battaglia and Delegate Christopher Adams (R-District 37B), arguing that the original map was drawn with an intent to gerrymander.
Len Foxwell, a Democratic political consultant with long-standing roots on the Eastern Shore, opposes gerrymandering but doesn’t believe in unilateral disarmament.
“There is nothing good about gerrymandering. It erodes public confidence in our political system and diminishes the quality of our representation. That said, we may be left with no choice, given that Donald Trump is ready to lie, cheat and steal in order to protect his House majority,” he said in an interview with The Informer.
He emphasized the urgency in overturning Republican efforts.
“We have to do whatever it takes, he continued, “to regain the House and hold Donald Trump and his acolytes fully accountable for ruining the economy, putting innocent lives at risk and destroying our democracy.”
Republican Leaders Push for Redistricting, Hogan Calls Gerrymandering ‘A Cancer on Our Democracy’
With the stakes raised and some Democratic leaders weighing their options, Republican lawmakers in several states have taken steps to begin mid-decade redistricting.
The White House and Vice President J.D. Vance (R) have been directly lobbying for Republicans to undertake this measure, and the option is being openly considered.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has hinted at redistricting, and Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) has announced plans to begin congressional redistricting before the 2026 election.
“Exploring these questions now, at the mid-decade point, would potentially allow us to seek legal guidance from our Supreme Court without the uncertainty associated with deferring those questions until after the next decennial census and reapportionment,” Speaker Perez wrote in a memo shared with members of the Florida House of Representatives.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) spoke with Vance last week and is more open to redistricting, which would likely target Rep. Frank Mrvan (D- Ind.). Speaking at the Indiana Statehouse shortly after Vance’s visit, said he believes that redistricting is a “done deal.”
Indiana House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins (R) has also received a call from the White House to encourage redistricting.
This push has been enough for an Indiana Republican consultant to decry the escalating national stakes for both major political parties.
“They are completely rewriting the implied rule book. It’s a Pandora’s box, because if you do it in Texas, you do it here, you do it in some other red states,” said former Indiana Republican Party communications director Pete Seat. “What’s going to happen in the blue states? They’re going to respond in kind. And then you have a redistricting arms race, and I don’t know where that ends.”
Missouri Republicans are likely to redraw the seat currently held by Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D), a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who represents the Kansas City metropolitan area. Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in their congressional delegation, including Cleaver and former St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) also said he was open to redistricting in the past week.
“Is Missouri represented properly in Washington, D.C.,” Kehoe questioned in an interview with Missouri’s Fox 2, “and quite frankly, what can we do to support President Trump’s agenda?”
In Maryland, Rep. Andy Harris, the sole Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, has welcomed redistricting efforts by national Republicans.
However, former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has decried gerrymandering as a stain on the political process.
“As governor, I called gerrymandering a cancer on our democracy. I still believe that it is,” Hogan wrote on Facebook Aug. 8. “It corrodes trust in government and pushes both parties further toward the fringes. It is one of the root causes of the toxic gridlock in Washington. And it has to end.”
To view Maryland’s congressional districts, visit the Maryland Department of Planning at planning.maryland.gov.
>”Ideally, once everyone has the same power, nobody exercises it, because it’s destabilizing…”
No, ideally every state dies this until it becomes obvious that a Constitutional Amendment that federalizes the redistricting process is passed. Stop pretending that norms and common sense are going to work on the highly radical Republican Party.