Increasingly crabby over pro-Republican redistricting efforts throughout the South, Maryland Democrat Gov. Wes Moore says he has not given up on gerrymandering the state’s sole Republican out of office, despite having had difficulty convincing his legislature to follow through.
“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,” Moore told Politico when asked about the possibility of pro-Democrat redistricting in Maryland ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Since the Callais v. Louisiana Supreme Court ruling freed states from having to maintain majority-minority congressional districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act, a slew of Republican-controlled legislatures have moved to redistrict.
So far, Tennessee has redistricted so as to disadvantage its sole Democrat representative, Louisiana’s legislature has advanced pro-Republican redistricting, and South Carolina could redraw its only Democrat district pending action from its governor and legislature. Similarly, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday called for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in June to address redistricting in the Peach State.
The Southern scramble, coming on the heels of Virginia’s Supreme Court overruling pro-Democrat redistricting and Florida Republicans already redistricting in a special session, will likely disadvantage Democrats in the midterms and beyond.
Maryland, a heavily Democrat state with just one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, in Congress, would seem a natural place for Democrats to begin to retaliate. Harris, as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, leads an important hardline conservative faction in Washington.
However, the state’s constitution requires that redistricting be carried out by the legislature and that districts “consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form, and of substantially equal population.”
Harris’ district covers the whole of Maryland Eastern Shore, a politically conservative section of the state.
Democrats’ attempts to boot Harris out of Congress have met court challenges in the past.
In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed a redistricting bill that would likely have removed Harris from Congress. It was challenged by Republicans, ultimately going to the Supreme Court of Maryland, which ruled the map was overly partisan and violated the state’s constitution.
Maryland Senate president Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has refused to yield to pressure from Moore and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., arguing such an effort would be doomed to fail and could backfire if a judge required that Maryland draw more Republican-friendly districts.
Maryland’s 2026 legislative session ended in April.
Harris told The Daily Signal in a statement that a Democrat attempt to flip his district via gerrymandering would likely backfire.
“Attempting to gerrymander the sole Maryland congressional Republican out of the seat remains a bad idea—an idea that would immediately bring a legal challenge that will result in Maryland Republicans gaining, not losing, a seat,” Harris told The Daily Signal.
Harris continued, “I understand Governor Moore’s presidential ambitions and Hakeem Jeffries’ hope for ascendancy are driving this renewed interest in a new attempt at partisan gerrymandering, but more pragmatic heads should prevail. Most Marylanders, like most Americans, do not believe politicians should pick their constituents.”
The Daily Signal spoke to Republican Maryland House Delegate Kathy Szeliga, the lead plaintiff in the case Democrats lost in 2021, who argued Moore’s window to redistrict before November has closed.
“It is too late for Wes Moore to redistrict for 2026,” she said. “He should know, because sample ballots have already hit people’s mailboxes and his name is on [them.]”
Moore has snubbed Ferguson by leaving him out of his list of endorsements for reelection.
Ferguson is facing a primary challenge from Bobby LaPin, the owner of a charter boat company in Baltimore who has gained a large social media following and presents himself as an anti-establishment candidate.
Asked point-blank by Politico if he was withholding an endorsement due to Ferguson’s stance on redistricting, More said, “I think he really knows how much I need for the Senate to take seriously this moment.”
Carter Elliott, a Senior Communications Adviser for Moore, asked by The Daily Signal about the snub, emphasized their points of agreement in a statement, saying, “Governor Moore and Senate President Ferguson continue to communicate consistently, and work alongside one another to accomplish big things in Maryland.”
He added, “The governor is proud of the work that they have accomplished together, and he will continue to work with him and his team to lower costs, continue record drops in crime, and make our schools even stronger.”
Szeliga said Ferguson’s primary will be a major event in the Maryland redistricting saga.
“The primaries are five weeks away, so in five short weeks, we’ll know if the national Democrats’ pressure on Bill Ferguson was effective or not,” she told The Daily Signal.
