5 things to know about the redistricting battle in Texas and beyond
4. Democrat-led states, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seek to counter Texas' effort
As the threat of Republicans winning additional seats because of redistricting looms large for Democrats, many have begun to fight back.
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom put a constitutional amendment before voters this fall that would ask them to approve congressional maps drawn by California Democrats to be more favorable to their party. Currently, Democrats represent 43 of California’s 52 congressional districts.
The current districts were drawn by an independent commission, as mandated by California law. Newsom indicated that he still supports the commission and that the new legislature-drawn maps would merely be a temporary response to the mid-decade redistricting elsewhere. He told reporters that he supports returning the responsibility to draw congressional districts to the independent commission at the time of the 2030 U.S. census and all subsequent U.S. censuses.
The Democrat-controlled California Assembly released a new congressional map designed to favor Democrats, which passed the California Senate in a 30-8 vote and the California Assembly in a 57-20 vote. California voters approved Proposition 50, which would result in the enactment of the new congressional map, last week.
A Google spreadsheet analyzing the results of the 2024 presidential election in the old and new congressional districts created by the political blog The Downballot shows that the new map transforms three of the nine seats currently held by Republicans into districts that backed Vice President Kamala Harris by double digits in the 2024 presidential election: California’s 1st District, California’s 3rd District and California’s 41st District.
California’s 48th District, which backed Trump by double digits under the current lines, transforms into a seat that backed Harris by 4 percentage points last year. California’s 22nd District will see Trump’s margin of victory drop from 6 percentage points to 2 percentage points.
The map seems designed to ensure at least a 46-6 split in favor of Democrats in California’s congressional delegation while making a 48-4 split possible in a good year for Democrats. Under the new map, the four remaining Republican-held districts backed Trump by double digits.
Maryland’s Democratic House of Delegates Majority Leader David Moon announced in an X post on July 22 that he intended to introduce legislation that would “redraw Maryland congressional districts if any other state cheats [and] draws new maps outside of the census period.” Moon added that if Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore did not submit a proposal for new congressional districts, the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature would create and pass their own map.
Under the current map, Democrats represent seven of Maryland’s eight congressional districts.
At an Aug. 4 press conference, New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul answered in the affirmative when asked if she thought the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission that draws the state’s congressional districts should be disbanded. Democrats currently hold 19 of New York’s 26 seats in the U.S. House. Hochul’s push will likely face legal and logistical challenges.
Concerns about Democrat retaliation have led some GOP lawmakers to call for a truce in the redistricting war. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., introduced legislation in early August that would ban mid-decade redistricting. As of Aug. 18, his bill hasn’t picked up any co-sponsors.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., appeared on CNN’s “The Lead” in early August where he announced his intention to introduce legislation that would ban mid-decade redistricting as well as partisan gerrymandering.
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, introduced similar legislation to Kiley’s that he called “The Anti-Rigging Act” in July designed for the same purpose, although Veasey’s bill clarifies that states may redraw their congressional maps if ordered to do so by a court “to comply with the Constitution or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
Veasey has secured nine co-sponsors for his measure, all of whom are fellow Democrats from Texas.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
