As plenty of states earn national attention for their redistricting battles, all eyes ought to be on Ohio, with Vice President JD Vance recently highlighting the role of his home state. It’s not merely Vance’s interest, though.
The Buckeye State is actually required by law to redraw maps for 2026, though the fact Ohio is becoming increasingly red will also play a role in the process.
POLITICO’s latest edition of Weekly Score on “The next redistricting battle,” focused on Ohio. “Ohio’s map redraw was already on the calendar, but the state-by-state redistricting battle raises the stakes and will put Ohio under the national spotlight,” the Monday edition declared.
“Ohio is moving right and red, rapidly,” Ohio Republican Party State Central Committeeman Tony Schroeder is quoted as saying. “So I think that’s going to be reflected in the design of the new maps.”
Schroeder also spoke to The Daily Signal about the process.
Schroeder emphasized the “crucial point” that what sets the state apart is Ohio is “mandated” to draw such maps, since the maps for 2022 are not valid for 2026.
Drawing these maps for 2026 presents an opportunity to showcase how Ohio is no longer a purple state, but becoming increasingly red, with state Supreme Court justices being the only remaining Democrats in power, Schroeder pointed out. He even likened Ohio to Florida.
“That simply reflects how the people of Ohio want to be governed,” Schroeder offered. “Not only is it proper for us and mandated for us to redistrict this year, but a set of district maps that winds up with an increased Republican majority is appropriate because it’s in a state where more and more people are becoming Republican, and that’s the direction that we’re heading.”
POLITICO also mentioned Texas’ redistricting efforts and state Democrat lawmakers there who had fled to Illinois before returning on Monday. New maps passed the state legislature on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Ohio House Democrats went to Boston for the National Conference of State Legislatures, with their Instagram account promoting how they “stood in solidarity with Texas Democrats and lawmakers from across the country at the Massachusetts State House to fight for #equaldistricts.”
The Ohio Capital Journal covered the gathering, highlighting how “Ohio Democrats are taking inspiration from Texas as they gear up for their own congressional redistricting battle,” though there’s a key difference as Ohio Democrats can’t flee the state.
Maura Healey, Massachusetts’ Democrat governor, also spoke out against redistricting. The commonwealth’s nine congressional districts are all represented by Democrats, as Tony Kinnett has emphasized on “The Tony Kinnett Cast.”
POLITICO further explained the process and the position Ohio Democrats are in with their options:
That leaves Democrats with two options: seek a court order finding that the lines were illegally drawn or mount a campaign for a citizen-led referendum to repeal the map.
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Ohio’s redistricting process is unique. State law says legislators must get a bipartisan supermajority to approve any congressional map. If that effort succeeds, the map is valid for the typical 10-year period between a census. If lawmakers fail to do so, as lawmakers did in 2021, the process goes to a seven-member commission.
If the commission’s map does not get enough Democratic votes, the process returns to the legislature, which then only needs a simple majority but must follow strict guidelines laid out in the state’s constitution, such as limited county splits.
Ohio tried a ballot initiative last year, “Ohio Issue 1, the Establish the Citizens Redistricting Commission Initiative,” which would have created a commission for drawing maps. It failed by 53.7% to 46.3%.
“Voters had the opportunity to remove the [General] Assembly” from the process and put it in an ‘independent commission,’” Schroeder reminded, pointing out that Ohio voters “overwhelmingly” rejected this proposal. “The people of Ohio decided they like the process” and “don’t want to see that sort of radical change,” Schroeder offered, which he said, “provides a real foundation for them to build on in doing the maps this time around.”
The process is one that Schroeder indicated to The Daily Signal he expects to go until November, and that Democrats may seek intervention from the courts. Schroeder predicted that “it’s likely that we wind up going all the way through the process.”
Chatter over targeted seats includes Democrat Reps. Emilia Sykes and Marcy Kaptur, of Ohio’s 13th and 9th Congressional Districts, respectively. Rep. Greg Landsman, who represents Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, is another potential target.
Schroeder pointed out that the state’s voting trends to the right are reflected in these three districts. He also offered that the makeup of the district maps could go from 10-5 to 12-3 or even 13-2.
The first set of maps are due on September 30.
