ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As states across the country are debating another wave of redistricting battles, Maryland is once again wading into the center of controversy. This time, the focus is on whether Maryland Democrats will attempt to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections.
Reports of internal discussions among Democratic lawmakers have sparked backlash from Republicans statewide, who argue that Maryland’s current 7-1 Democratic advantage is already the result of extreme gerrymandering following the 2020 United States Census.
Delegate Matt Morgan[R-St. Mary’s], criticized the situation on Wednesday, Aug. 6, following a Fox News interview, pointing to what he described as a steady erosion of fairness in the state’s political map.
“States like Maryland have caused this,” Morgan wrote on Facebook. “Maryland’s congressional delegation was fairly drawn, splitting it between four Republicans and four Democrats. Democrats redrew the maps, and the delegation went 6-to-2. In 2010, they redrew again, and now we have only one Republican congressman, yet two of the last four governors have been Republicans.”
Morgan warned that continued one-party control in Washington could carry consequences for residents.
“For a state as reliant as Maryland on federal dollars, it’s economic suicide to have a congressional delegation entirely in the minority party,” he said.
He also accused Democratic officials of prioritizing national party goals over local needs.
“The one thing that has become painfully obvious is that if what’s good for Maryland citizens conflicts with the agenda of the Democratic Party, the Maryland Democrat elected officials will choose the Party every time,” Morgan concluded.
Maryland’s current map was enacted in 2022 after a judge struck down another version, citing it as gerrymandered. The court-ordered revision eventually preserved a 7-to-1 congressional seat advantage.
Republicans argue that the process remains noncompetitive and overly tilted toward one side.
President Donald Trump[R] addressed the broader redistricting battle this week, claiming in a CNBC interview that Republicans would be entitled to five more seats under Texas’s proposed redistricting plan. He also accused states controlled by Democratic majorities like California and Illinois of using unfair maps to shut out conservative voters.
“California is gerrymandered. We should have many more seats in Congress in California — it’s all gerrymandered,” Trump said on the program. “And we have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats.”
In Maryland, Democratic leaders have not announced plans to revisit the map, but some lawmakers have signaled interest in a response if red states proceed with mid-cycle redrawing.
Maryland House Majority Leader, Delegate David Moon[D-Montgomery], has already introduced legislation that would trigger a map redraw only if other states make similar moves. He framed the proposal as a defensive strategy, not an escalation.
“I’m introducing legislation to automatically redraw Maryland congressional districts — IF any other state cheats and draws new maps outside of the census period,” Moon said on social media. “Trump has apparently convinced Texas, Ohio, Missouri and other states to do this, and for what it’s worth, Texas did this a few years ago and got away with it because nobody responded.”
Maryland Democratic Party Chair Steuart Pittman also noted the state party is closely monitoring the national landscape, but cautioned against moving too quickly.
“Nothing can be off the table,” Pittman said, while acknowledging that more redistricting could carry long-term risks for both parties.
Delegate Adrian Boafo[D-Prince George’s] has suggested targeting the Republican-held 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Congressman Andy Harris[R], but only if Democrats determine a response is necessary.
“We shouldn’t be the first to act,” he said. “But we also shouldn’t sit back and let Republicans reshape the country unopposed.”
Democratic officials nationwide have expressed concern that aggressive redistricting in Republican-led states could shift control of the House for the next decade. In Maryland, however, those seeking retaliation may be constrained by legal precedent, public perception, and the party’s past support for nonpartisan reforms.
The 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rucho v. Common Cause eliminated federal court oversight of partisan gerrymandering, granting state legislatures broad discretion to redraw maps.
As the 2026 election cycle approaches, redistricting remains one of the most powerful and polarizing tools in American politics, and Maryland’s role going forward may have an impact.
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Sory Democrats, You fired the first shot of this yearssss ago. Now you have to deal with it happening to your side. SO sorry…
You want one party Repub rule? Move to a red state.
It doesn’t matter what anyone does in Maryland. The state is totally lost until the voters STOP electing democrats, and that is VERY unlikely.
believe it or not, Democrats are capable of acting correctly, there aren’t rules, in Maryland, about being an R or D. Theres a group called Democrats for Life. [pssst that means theres no definition of Republican\ Democrat]
Annapolis has a group called the Freedom Caucus. I wonder when its going to make it into the maryland manual? Excuse me: democrats are allowed, aren’t they?
must bring this up every once in a while: when are US Congress e-mail address’s going to be on the US Congress website, or another website, so we can write to the member of our choice and not be confined to our own representative?
I wonder whats going to be done about this. Our US House districts are not supposed to be so bulging, more than 600,000. They’re supposed to be be way smaller. Congress should remove the cap of 535 members.
mmmm every state has its own starting date. Why isn’t there a page on the US Congress website about states that aren’t in the US? A state has to form and then get into the US. How are we supposed to know what states are not yet in the US? Forming a new state would mean it gets its own members of Congress + Senate. Why does the Congress website not have a page about this? Like, as an example, if Idaho wanted to be 2 instead of 1. How are we supposed to find out about new states?