Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) might be the latest state leader to dive into the ongoing redistricting chaos across the country.
Governor Wes Moore appeared on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday and said that, in the interests of “fairness,” he is considering gerrymandering the lone Republican in his state’s congressional delegation out of a U.S. House seat.
Republican Rep. Andy Harris in Maryland’s First Congressional District.
“I want to make sure that we have fair lines and fair seats,” said Moore.
Harris is the only Republican of Maryland’s ten members of Congress. The Daily Wire reported in 2024, President Donald Trump received over a third of Maryland’s vote. He lost the state to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who won 63% of the state’s vote.
Moore said his plan to potentially gerrymander Harris out of the first district is about fighting against “situations where politicians are choosing voters.”
“We need to be able to have fair maps, and we also need to make sure that if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to try to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win in a ballot box, then it behooves each and every one of us to be able to keep all options on the table to ensure that the voters’ voices can actually be heard,” Moore said.
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Last week, the Texas state legislature passed a new congressional map that favors Republicans winning an extra five seats in the U.S. House in the upcoming midterm elections.
The GOP push to redistrict in favor of Republicans has sparked a backlash from Democratic state officials who want to lean further into gerrymandering. California Governor Gavin Newsom has put forward a plan to draw a new map that could claw Democrats another five seats in California’s already overbalanced congressional delegation.
However, in order for Newsom’s plan to succeed, California voters must approve the new map since redistricting congressional seats in the state is controlled by an independent commission under a 2010 law.
California Republicans filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop the Democrat-dominated state legislature from holding a vote by the end of this week to advance the redistricting push.
“Today I joined my colleagues in filing a lawsuit challenging the rushed redistricting process. California’s Constitution requires bills to be in print for 30 days, but that safeguard was ignored. By bypassing this provision, Sacramento has effectively shut voters out of engaging in their own legislative process,” Assembly member Tri Ta said on X.
The petition cites a section of the state constitution that requires a monthlong review period for new legislation.
