Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland on Tuesday announced the creation of a new redistricting advisory commission, officially plunging the Democratic-led state into the redistricting wars ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The decision to wade into redistricting follows pressure from national Democrats, who are eager to pick up seats anywhere they can in response to Republican efforts to grow the GOP House majority. States like California, Illinois and Virginia are among those looking to redistrict to try to gain blue seats, and in Maryland they have the possibility of picking up one more with a new map.
“My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” Moore said in a release obtained by NOTUS.
The commission, according to the release, will begin the process of seeking public input and recommending new maps to the governor and the state General Assembly this month. The committee is set to be made up of five members, three of whom Moore has already appointed.
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“We’re putting together now a panel with a number of stakeholders to take a look at [Maryland redistricting] but what we want to make sure is that we’re protecting the right to vote for people and that’s what this is about,” U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who will chair the commission, told NOTUS on Monday. “We want to make sure that representation is fair.”
Moore also appointed former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss to serve on the commission, alongside the presiding officers of the state General Assembly.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been among those urging Democrats in Maryland to redistrict as part of his broader push for states under Democratic control to do so.
“It’s my expectation, based on my conversations with Gov. Moore [and] leadership in the Maryland General Assembly … that the state of Maryland knows what the stakes are, understands the assignment,” Jeffries said at a press conference last week.
Before redistricting plans were made public, Sen. Chris Van Hollen told NOTUS on Monday that he’d “like to see the governor and Maryland General Assembly move forward with redistricting.”
“I’ve always believed at the federal level, we should have nonpartisan line drawing … but I’m not in favor of unilateral disarmament, and Texas has moved ahead to try to change the lines to win more Republican seats,” Van Hollen told NOTUS. “I think other states that can should move forward. I’m glad California is doing what it’s doing, and I think Maryland should move forward.”
Democrats currently hold seven of Maryland’s eight congressional seats, and both the state’s senators are Democrats. Democrats also control both chambers of the state General Assembly.
But that doesn’t mean there’s been uniform agreement from Democrats in the state to pursue redistricting. The state Senate’s president, Bill Ferguson, sent a letter last Tuesday striking down mid-cycle redistricting conversations by saying he would not hold a special session on redistricting.
While Ferguson’s approval is needed to hold a special session specifically for redistricting, the state Senate can consider redistricting as legislation under a special session for another topic. The chamber could also consider redistricting when the General Assembly returns in January.
Over the past few months, President Donald Trump has pushed Republicans in states including Texas, North Carolina and Missouri to redistrict their congressional maps to favor the GOP ahead of next year’s midterms.
California, the first Democratic-led state to jump into the fight, will vote Tuesday on Proposition 50, a statewide ballot measure that, if successful, would institute a new congressional map and add up to five U.S. House seats for Democrats.
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