States Escalate Redistricting Arms Race As Texas Push Spurs National Gerrymander Surge

“[The Texas legislature] could well provoke other states to do the same. I’m sure there will be proposals for Maryland to do it, though we can only switch one district,” emailed Steve Shapiro, the original complainant in the well-known Maryland redistricting case, Shapiro v. McManus, to me on July 20.

As the first to challenge Maryland’s congressional district apportionment for the 2010 decade, I was heartened two days later (July 22) when House of Delegates Majority Leader, Del. David H. Moon (D-Montgomery Co.), announced his plan to draft legislation that would automatically redistrict Maryland if other states engage in out-of-cycle redrawing of congressional districts.

On my 81st birthday, July 16, President Donald Trump (R) urged Texas to redraw its congressional map, enabling the Republican Party to gain seats in the 2026 midterm elections during a special session. Soon afterward, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed dismantling California’s voter-approved redistricting system to counter Texas’s efforts to redraw congressional districts. Ohio, with 10 Republican representatives and five Democratic representatives, is set to redraw its congressional district lines this September or October. Now, another red state, Florida, should consider overhauling its congressional districts between censuses. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is open to redrawing House lines only if other states violate the rules. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) hosted Texas state legislators on Friday in Oakwood, IL, to respond to Republican congressional redistricting plans. Trump encouraged Missouri lawmakers to redraw their congressional map to gain one GOP seat. Oregon must redraw its congressional districts next time to prevent prison gerrymandering, but when? Washington state lawmakers believe that their Redistricting Commission won’t redraw before next year’s midterms. New Jersey Democrats will likely need to change the law to draw a new map, provided the NJ court permits it.

The Princeton Gerrymandering Project has graded the states as mentioned above: California “B” (43-to-9 Democratic advantage), Florida “F” (20-to-8 R), Illinois “F” (14-to-3 D), Maryland “B” (7-to-1 D), Missouri “A” (6-to-2 R), New Jersey “A” (9-to-3 D), New York “A” (19-to-7 D), Ohio “D” (10-to-5 R), Oregon “D” (5-to-1 D), Texas “F” (25-to-12 R with one vacancy), and Washington “A” (8-to-2 D). These grades indicate the level of fairness and transparency in each state’s redistricting process, with ‘A’ representing the highest level of fairness and ‘F’ the lowest.

That prompted Del. Moon to wave the Maryland flag, a symbolic gesture often used to attract attention or rally support for Maryland’s potential response to out-of-cycle redistricting.

In 2018, Del. Moon had to answer a Question on the Redistricting asked by the League of Women Voters of Maryland: “What changes, if any, do you support in the process for drawing congressional and legislative district lines in Maryland?” He wrote:

“When an entire legislative body can be drawn independently, we should do so. That’s why I support independent redistricting for state legislative districts. But when district lines are drawn piecemeal, as happens in Congress, I support nationwide independent redistricting. In the meantime, I’ve cosponsored bills to push Maryland into treaties with other states to adopt this reform regionally.”

Before becoming a Delegate in January 2015, Moon ran a blog called Maryland Juice 1.0.

It might be more interesting to read his 2011 blog titled “What Happens in Georgia Stays in Maryland: Trading Rep. Bartlett for Rep. Barrow.”

Now, Del. Moon might trade the only Maryland Republican congressman, Andy Harris, for a different Democratic representative from another state, like Missouri’s Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.

Otherwise, how will Del. Moon’s fellow delegates redraw Rep. Harris’s 1st Congressional District to secure the last of the eight congressional districts for the Democrats? It might be simple to shift Harford County and most of Cecil County into the 2nd District. To attract more Democratic-registered voters to the 1st District, it could be redrawn across the 4.3-mile-long William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Chesapeake) Bay Bridge to include downtown Annapolis, including the State House, where the Governor’s family lives. Then, the legislators would redraw the boundaries of the other seven congressional districts based on the “Principle of Equal Population (One Person, One Vote).” As a result, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project would change Maryland’s grade from “B” to “D.”

President Trump could surpass President Barack Obama as the leading sitting advocate of gerrymandering. In 2009, the latter shocked anti-gerrymandering supporters by ignoring the redistricting reform bill proposed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), even though the Democratic-controlled House and Senate were in session. No Maryland congressional delegation co-sponsored Rep. Lofgren’s 2009 bill.

I left my comment on Delegate Moon’s Facebook page regarding his proposal. It says, “As an expert on the hypocrisy of gerrymandering, I look forward to seeing you, Delegate, in your Judiciary Committee in the coming session.”

This writing was first published MarylandReporter.com on July 28, 2025

Howard Gorrell is an advocate for the deaf, a former Republican Party election statistician, and a longtime congressional aide. He has been advocating against partisan gerrymandering for four decades.