5 things to know about the redistricting battle in Texas and beyond
3. Ohio is required by state law to do mid-decade redistricting
Even before the debate about Texas’ redistricting began, one state was certain to have new maps in effect for the 2026 elections: Ohio.
Ohio law requires the state Legislature to “pass a congressional district plan in the form of a bill by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members of each chamber of the general assembly, including the affirmative vote of at least one-half of the members of each of the two largest political parties represented in that house.”
In other words, Ohio’s congressional maps must receive bipartisan support to be in effect for the entire decade. If the Ohio Legislature fails to pass a congressional map with bipartisan support, the task then goes to the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission. As is the case with a map passed by the state Legislature, any map approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission must receive bipartisan support and not just be approved by members of one party.
Suppose the Ohio Redistricting Commission doesn’t pass a congressional map with bipartisan support. In that case, the Ohio Legislature must pass a congressional map with the support of at least one-third of the members of both parties. If such an attempt fails, the Ohio Legislature can approve congressional maps that do not meet that threshold, but those maps can only be effective for two election cycles.
In 2021, the Ohio Legislature ultimately passed a map with only Republican support, but the Ohio Supreme Court struck down the map for violating the state constitution’s ban on partisan gerrymandering. Following the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision, the Ohio Redistricting Commission passed a revised map along party lines, which is set to expire after the 119th Congress concludes next year.
Just before the Oct. 31 deadline for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to produce a map, members of both parties on the body reached an agreement on new congressional districts that will be used for the next three election cycles. As detailed by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, the new map makes two of the five seats held by Democrats slightly more favorable for Republicans while making a third slightly more favorable to Democrats.
Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, goes from a district that backed Trump by about 6.5 points in the 2024 election to one that would have voted for him by about 10.5 points. Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, represented by Rep. Greg Landsman, transforms from a district that favored Harris by about 6.5 points to a seat that backed Trump by 2.6 points. Ohio’s 13th Congressional District will see Harris’ margin of victory increase from about 0.1 points to 3.3 points.
The two remaining Democratic-held seats were left untouched in the new map while Republican incumbents remain strongly favored in the state’s 10 remaining districts.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
