Gerrymandering push

Maryland gerrymandering push reignites after major losses nationwide

An earlier push to redraw the state was snuffed out in the state Senate, but prominent Marylanders argued that the recent Supreme Court decision targeting the Voting Rights Act has changed the calculus.

By Gregory Svirnovskiy

Maryland Democrats are increasingly agitating for their state to redraw its congressional lines after a miserable two weeks in the redistricting wars — with prominent Democrats arguing there is still time to wade in for this year’s elections.

But they have hit the same pair of roadblocks that sunk the party’s hopes months earlier: the state’s June primary and Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who is facing a fresh wave of anger from prominent Democrats for his role in preventing the party from trying to draw an 8-0 map.

“At this point, the Republicans are literally doing everything in their power to create all Republican congressional delegations in the South and to squeeze out every possible seat,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said in an interview. “So if his initial position was that he didn’t want to be part of continuing a downward spiral, that consideration should be gone. At this point, it’s just a question of whether we are going to fight back as best as we can.”

The renewed pressure comes as Democrats continue to reel from an April Supreme Court decision that slashed the Voting Rights Act, touching off a Republican mad dash to crack majority Black, safe Democratic seats in southern states such as Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee. A Virginia Supreme Court decision overturning a map that would have given the party up to four new seats ahead in November midterms has further inflamed Maryland Democrats, who argue now is the time for action.

Many in the party concede that the odds of enacting a redraw before the midterms are remote, with in-person early voting in the state’s primary elections under a month away. They privately acknowledge that getting Maryland ready to gerrymander ahead of 2028 is the more plausible scenario.

But they’re still turning the screws on Ferguson, who faces a tougher-than-expected primary campaign against Bobby LaPin, a veteran and tour boat operator.

Moore pushes Maryland Dems to redraw congressional maps 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore withheld a planned endorsement of Ferguson after a conversation last week in which the Senate president declined to signal more movement or openness on redistricting, according to a person briefed on the conversation granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.

And publicly, Moore has maintained that the state has to move on redistricting.

“We don’t have a choice but to act, particularly when we’re watching the greatest assault on Black voter representation around the country that we have seen in generations, that we are watching a president try to manipulate and change the rules in the middle of the game,” Moore told POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin for an episode of “On The Road,” which is set to publish next week. “I would urge [Ferguson] and his colleagues to be able to take this moment seriously.”

Ferguson has long been a thorn in the side for Moore and other Democrats intent on redistricting. Under his leadership, the state Senate said it would block any attempts at a new map last October, casting the prospect as rushed and rife with potential and legal consequences.

But a spokesperson for the Senate leader said Wednesday that Ferguson had spoken with the governor about redistricting.

“The Senate president relayed to the governor he’s open to a conversation about next steps, but needs to discuss that with Senate leadership as well as rank and file members of the Senate Democratic Caucus,” said David J. Schuhlein, Ferguson’s spokesperson. “The Senate president is as outraged as a governor about what’s happening in the country and understands that the stakes are even higher.”

Some of the redistricting pressure in Maryland was first reported by NOTUS.

Democrats acknowledge that the timing of the primary on June 23 would make redistricting ahead of November challenging and would likely lead to the primary having to be suspended. If redistricting does not happen in time for the midterms, some Democrats have raised the possibility of a ballot measure that supporters believe will make redistricting in the future easier.

And even longtime proponents of partisan redistricting are uncomfortable with a 2026 redraw.

“I personally have a little difficulty with normalizing in the partisan toolbox, canceling ongoing elections,” said Maryland Del. David Moon, the Democratic state House majority leader. “I find that highly problematic.”

Several Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation argued that the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision fundamentally changed the calculus, and that their counterparts in Annapolis needed to serve as a response to GOP-led redistricting efforts.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the dean of the delegation, said he believes Democrats’ losses on redistricting will spark movement at the state level.

“I really hope so. I agree with Jim Clyburn, this is Jim Crow 2.0,” he said, referencing the longtime South Carolina Democrat. “We need to respond. This is an extraordinarily important election. Hopefully most of Republicans’ plans won’t prevail, and I am 100 percent for taking additional action in Maryland.”

Still, Democrats acknowledged that any redistricting move could face significant legal hurdles. Five of Maryland’s seven Supreme Court justices were appointed by former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Ferguson and a large swath of the state Senate worry that the court would eventually overturn a new gerrymander, said Schuhlein, Ferguson’s spokesperson.

“Our top legal concern has always been the risk of not gaining a seat, but losing a seat and going backward,” Schuhlein said.

Rep. Johnny Olszewski expressed similar concerns, especially in the wake of Virginia’s Supreme Court ruling, a disaster for Democrats who spent more than $60 million to win a referendum on its maps.

“Knowing what happened with the Virginia court case, there have been similar concerns raised regarding our own limitations,” he said. “And so I think what you may find is necessary conversations about whether or not and how to amend our own constitution to ensure that Marylanders have a chance to weigh in but also that there’s no question about the state’s ability to respond.”