Divisions and legal threats handicap redistricting bid by Maryland Democrats
Trust is earned, not demanded.
Maryland’s attempt to replicate California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-cycle redistricting feat is hitting a brick wall of Democratic divisions as conservative critics line up to mount legal challenges.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, is single-handedly standing in the way of the gerrymandering push by Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and his allies, creating tensions with state and national Democrats.
Citing perceived legal and political risks, Ferguson is unyielding in his blockade of Moore’s new congressional map to net the party an additional U.S. House seat by sweeping all eight districts and ousting House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), even as the Maryland House passed the legislation Monday night.
“The world is uncertain, the world is crazy, and we have a limited amount of time and energy and focus, and we have to put it where it matters most,” Ferguson recently told reporters, citing a state budget deficit and the economy. “We’ve got to pass policies that truly and actually protect Marylanders against Trump administration.”
The standoff could carry national consequences, with Democrats arguing that flipping even one seat in Maryland could help determine control of the House in 2026. Moore, who’s seeking a second term as governor and is a potential 2028 presidential contender, has tried to frame the gerrymandering push as an accountability measure against President Donald Trump.
“I know that history is not going to remember the Trump-Vance administration kindly,” Moore recently told state lawmakers as he testified in favor of the proposed map. “But to all those who kowtow, or all those who are trying to move the goalposts, for all those who are looking for all the reasons why we should not respond, instead of using your energy to find ways to respond: History will remember you worse.”
Maryland Republican lawmakers and activist groups, meanwhile, say pro-redistricting Democrats are repeating the same mistakes that led a 2021 gerrymandering effort to be overturned by the courts.
“This is a rerun of an unlawful gerrymander that a court already threw out,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, whose group sued to overturn the last gerrymander. “Maryland Democrats appear determined to entrench partisan power at the expense of constitutional limits and voters’ rights. We are watching these developments closely.”
The new gerrymandered congressional map drawn by Maryland Democrats would apply to the 2026 midterm elections but …
Trust is earned, not demanded.
Maryland’s attempt to replicate California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-cycle redistricting feat is hitting a brick wall of Democratic divisions as conservative critics line up to mount legal challenges.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, is single-handedly standing in the way of the gerrymandering push by Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and his allies, creating tensions with state and national Democrats.
Citing perceived legal and political risks, Ferguson is unyielding in his blockade of Moore’s new congressional map to net the party an additional U.S. House seat by sweeping all eight districts and ousting House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), even as the Maryland House passed the legislation Monday night.
“The world is uncertain, the world is crazy, and we have a limited amount of time and energy and focus, and we have to put it where it matters most,” Ferguson recently told reporters, citing a state budget deficit and the economy. “We’ve got to pass policies that truly and actually protect Marylanders against Trump administration.”
The standoff could carry national consequences, with Democrats arguing that flipping even one seat in Maryland could help determine control of the House in 2026. Moore, who’s seeking a second term as governor and is a potential 2028 presidential contender, has tried to frame the gerrymandering push as an accountability measure against President Donald Trump.
“I know that history is not going to remember the Trump-Vance administration kindly,” Moore recently told state lawmakers as he testified in favor of the proposed map. “But to all those who kowtow, or all those who are trying to move the goalposts, for all those who are looking for all the reasons why we should not respond, instead of using your energy to find ways to respond: History will remember you worse.”
Maryland Republican lawmakers and activist groups, meanwhile, say pro-redistricting Democrats are repeating the same mistakes that led a 2021 gerrymandering effort to be overturned by the courts.
“This is a rerun of an unlawful gerrymander that a court already threw out,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, whose group sued to overturn the last gerrymander. “Maryland Democrats appear determined to entrench partisan power at the expense of constitutional limits and voters’ rights. We are watching these developments closely.”
The new gerrymandered congressional map drawn by Maryland Democrats would apply to the 2026 midterm elections but …
Divisions and legal threats handicap redistricting bid by Maryland Democrats
Trust is earned, not demanded.
Maryland’s attempt to replicate California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-cycle redistricting feat is hitting a brick wall of Democratic divisions as conservative critics line up to mount legal challenges.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, is single-handedly standing in the way of the gerrymandering push by Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) and his allies, creating tensions with state and national Democrats.
Citing perceived legal and political risks, Ferguson is unyielding in his blockade of Moore’s new congressional map to net the party an additional U.S. House seat by sweeping all eight districts and ousting House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD), even as the Maryland House passed the legislation Monday night.
“The world is uncertain, the world is crazy, and we have a limited amount of time and energy and focus, and we have to put it where it matters most,” Ferguson recently told reporters, citing a state budget deficit and the economy. “We’ve got to pass policies that truly and actually protect Marylanders against Trump administration.”
The standoff could carry national consequences, with Democrats arguing that flipping even one seat in Maryland could help determine control of the House in 2026. Moore, who’s seeking a second term as governor and is a potential 2028 presidential contender, has tried to frame the gerrymandering push as an accountability measure against President Donald Trump.
“I know that history is not going to remember the Trump-Vance administration kindly,” Moore recently told state lawmakers as he testified in favor of the proposed map. “But to all those who kowtow, or all those who are trying to move the goalposts, for all those who are looking for all the reasons why we should not respond, instead of using your energy to find ways to respond: History will remember you worse.”
Maryland Republican lawmakers and activist groups, meanwhile, say pro-redistricting Democrats are repeating the same mistakes that led a 2021 gerrymandering effort to be overturned by the courts.
“This is a rerun of an unlawful gerrymander that a court already threw out,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, whose group sued to overturn the last gerrymander. “Maryland Democrats appear determined to entrench partisan power at the expense of constitutional limits and voters’ rights. We are watching these developments closely.”
The new gerrymandered congressional map drawn by Maryland Democrats would apply to the 2026 midterm elections but …
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