Democrats Face Setback in Maryland Amid National Redistricting Push

The Maryland State Senate allowed House Bill 488, which would have redrawn the state’s congressional districts, to stall in committee after Bill Ferguson, the chamber’s Democratic president, refused to bring the measure to the floor on April 13.

The bill died despite months of pressure from fellow Democrat Gov. Wes Moore, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Maryland members of Congress including Reps. Jamie Raskin and Steny Hoyer.

The loss narrows one front in a redistricting battle playing out across the country but does not erase Democrats’ broader path to flipping the House. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election forecaster, shifted five House races in Democrats’ favor on April 7 and rates Republicans as holding 14 of 17 toss-up seats.

Senior editor Dave Wasserman said Democrats are “substantial favorites for control,” noting Republicans would need to win 76 percent of the toss-ups to keep their majority. Democrats need a net gain of three seats.

A redistricting referendum in Virginia is set for April 21, with early voting already outpacing the state’s 2025 governor’s race.

If approved, the Democrat-drawn map could shift Virginia’s delegation from six Democrats and five Republicans to as many as 10 Democrats and one Republican—but the measure faces two unresolved legal challenges. To the south, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special session in Florida for late April to redraw maps in the Republican-dominated legislature.

The Maryland bill would have implemented a new congressional map recommended by a redistricting advisory commission Moore created. The proposed map targeted the state’s lone Republican-held district, represented by Rep. Andy Harris. Democrats already hold a 7–1 advantage in Maryland’s congressional delegation. The House of Delegates passed the bill 99–37 on Feb. 2.

Ferguson argued reopening redistricting could backfire in court. A 2021 map designed to flip Harris’s seat was struck down by a judge as an extreme partisan gerrymander.

Maryland adopted a replacement map in 2022 that the state’s highest court has never reviewed. Ferguson warned a new effort could invite challenges to the existing lines.

Jeffries traveled to Annapolis, Maryland, on Feb. 18 and met with Ferguson, Moore, and House speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk. Ferguson did not move.

Jeffries at the time called for “an immediate up-or-down vote on the Senate floor,” while Ferguson responded that “most members in the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus do not support moving forward with mid-cycle redistricting that will backfire in our state courts and lose Democrats in Congress.”

Moore continued pressing the case publicly, speaking on the issue at the National Action Network convention in New York last week and framing redistricting as a response to President Donald Trump encouraging Republican-led states to redraw their maps.