Maryland Gov. Again Hints He Is Open to Redrawing Congressional Map

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore once again said on Oct. 21 that he was open to “conversations” about  remaking the congressional maps in his state.

“If you are having these other states that are having conversations about fair maps, then I’m very clear,” Moore said during an interview at Washington’s Urban Institute. “So will Maryland, and we will make sure that we have fair maps.”

Moore was responding to rumors that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was “pressuring” him to redraw Maryland’s congressional map to offset Republican redistricting in states like Texas and Indiana.

He insisted that he does not respond to pressure from anyone. But he also said most states’ district lines are unfairly drawn, a practice known as “gerrymandering.”

“The country right now is gerrymandered,” he told MSNBC news anchor Catherine Rampell.

“Less than 10 percent of all our congressional seats are competitive. You have congressional leaders who are running for reelection who will win by 30 and 40 and 50 points. That’s a fair map? So my only thing is this: I can’t stand gerrymandering. I can’t stand the fact that we do have a system of elections where you have politicians choosing their people and not people choosing their politicians.”

Democrats currently hold a 7 to 1 district majority in Maryland.

The governor said he would not start with the objective of having an 8-0 Democratic Party map. But in light of President Donald Trump’s push for other states to redistrict, he would not rule out discussions about changing Maryland’s map.

Maryland Sen. Clarence Lam (D) submitted a new map for the state in August that targeted its only district held by a Republican, Rep. Andy Harris.

Lam said he was reluctant to introduce the map but he did it as a way of “sending a message to other states” that Democrats are fighting back, in the hopes that other states will change course on redistricting.

“This is an effort to draw a line in the sand,” Lam said on X.

“All options are on the table,” Moore said at that time, when asked about redistricting.

Moore’s comments are part of a larger redistricting battle ahead of the 2026 midterms. Republicans currently hold both chambers of Congress and the White House, but their majority in the House of Representatives is narrow.

In July, lawmakers in Texas announced that they would redraw their district maps to give Republicans five extra seats in the House. The move was especially controversial because such redistricting usually comes every 10 years, and was not expected till after the 2030 census.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by saying his state will also redistrict, adding five extra Democrat seats to balance out Texas’s plan.

This back-and-forth has ignited a nationwide flurry of potential redistricting moves, as both parties seek to shore up their numbers in the House. Missouri’s Senate approved a new map targeting a Democrat-led district on Sept. 12.