Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is under pressure to eliminate the state’s only Republican-held seat as President Donald Trump wages a national redistricting war ahead of next year’s pivotal midterms.
So far, the rising star in the party and a potential White House hopeful hasn’t made a move — hesitation rooted in legal concerns and an unified front among Maryland Democrats. It’s a posture that contrasts him with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who became the first Democratic governor to throw himself into the remapping fight.
Moore disputed characterizations of reluctance in an interview at the 54th Annual Legislative Conference hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation this week.
“There is no hold up from me,” he said. “I am very clear on where I stand. It’s time for Maryland to have a conversation about whether we have a fair map or not.”
Moore has yet to call a special session to take up redistricting. He suggested there’s still time to do it, while underscoring he’s been clear with his “legislative partners” he’s ready for them to take it on. And he said he’s had conversations about the matter with Congressional leaders — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer — as the party grapples with Trump’s aggressive push to redraw congressional lines in red states ahead of the next year’s battle for control of the House.
When pressed on why he’s not yet taken action, Moore suggested legal challenges to a new map were not a major concern, even though a Maryland judge struck down a map that might have given Democrats an 8-0 advantage in their House delegation three years ago. He instead put the onus on his general assembly.
“The general assembly has got to be the one … to introduce and pass legislation, but they also know that they have a ready and an eager and a willing partner in the governor to make sure that we have fair maps come [next] November,” Moore said.
Two leading Democrats in Maryland’s state legislature have offered preliminary plans to their general assembly to consider, but they’ve yet to meet with top state officials about them. Meanwhile, some state leaders fear any new map would be quickly slapped down by the courts citing a provision in the state’s Constitution that says “each legislative district shall consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form, and of substantially equal population.”
“Core Democratic voters …. they’re really engaged in this,” said Maryland state Sen. Clarence Lam, who introduced a bill last month that put more liberal-leaning voters in the state’s only Republican-held seat, occupied by House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris.
As Democrats outside California hesitate, Republicans are charging ahead.
State legislatures have already redrawn maps in the Republican-led states of Texas and Missouri. Ohio is actively considering a map that would help the GOP, and Indiana’s governor recently said his state may “have consequences” for not working closely with the Trump administration on redistricting. Kansas is also looking at taking up a map that would add another Republican-leaning seat.
“I think if the presiding officers and the governor wanted to move on this quickly, they could,” Lam continued, referring to Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones, who enjoy a Democratic supermajority in the state. “We hold all the levers … and there’s very little that the opposition can do to resist this from going forward,” Lam said.
Moore lamented that in forcing the mid-decade redistricting fight, Trump “changes the rules, which is something frankly he’s done his entire life.”
Red-state Republicans, particularly those with overwhelming majorities in their state legislatures, argue redrawing federal congressional maps better reflects their state’s political leanings, even if the most recent efforts weren’t taken up without pressure from Trump.
As Moore builds a national profile ahead of the 2028 presidential primary, he has spoken to Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general under President Barack Obama who heads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, according to two people familiar with the conversations and granted anonymity to discuss private talks. The organization was widely credited with beating back some Republican gerrymandering efforts in court after a remapping push in 2021.
While Moore said he does not feel compelled to accelerate the redistricting fight, suggesting it could be taken up when the legislature reconvenes in January, others believe that would not afford enough time to get new maps passed and adjudicated through likely court challenges before the candidate filing deadline in late February next year.
Lam said he’s not spoken to Moore since he released his proposal last month. That proposal resurrects a similar map to the one approved by the state legislature four years ago, before that map was knocked down by a state court.
In her ruling at the time, Judge Lynne Battaglia called it an “extreme partisan gerrymander” that violated the state’s constitution stipulating “due regard be given to natural boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions.” She ordered the map redrawn and the legislature approved the state’s current map by a 7-1 margin 10 days later.
Ferguson was closely involved in those talks and did not sound eager to undertake another effort to redraw congressional lines, alluding to the makeup of the state Supreme Court: five of the seven justices were appointed by former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
“I think we’re still working through the details of understanding from our attorney general,” Ferguson said, referencing Anthony Brown, a Democrat.
Ferguson made clear he’s not itching to toss Maryland into the fight. But, he added, state officials may soon be compelled to counteract redistricting pushes in red states. “If this is the path that we’re forced to take, it’s possible to do in Maryland,” he said, without divulging specifics. “It’s not pretty, and it’s not easy, but it is possible.”
State Democrats say redistricting would demonstrate that Maryland is willing to fight Trump on the issue at a time when the party is desperate to regain power. And they argue national politics have changed dramatically from four years ago, pointing to Trump’s recent influence on the issue providing a fresh opportunity for a different court ruling.
“The fear of a lawsuit is certainly not stopping other states from proceeding, so I’m not sure I quite get the concern with that,” said Maryland House Majority Leader David Moon, who is working on a pair of proposals that tackle redistricting.
Brian Frosh, Maryland’s former Democratic attorney general who served with Hogan and argued the case for Maryland’s maps in 2022, called concerns about the prior court case “really moot.”
Battaglia’s ruling used an unusual interpretation of state law that is applied to the drawing of state legislative districts, not federal ones, Frosh said, adding, “The Maryland court courts never adopted that principle.” He thinks Democrats should be doing all they can to buttress the “nakedly political” push Republicans are attempting.
“If you want to play by the Texas rules,” he said, citing a state doing an aggressive redistricting push, “you can create a Democratic district.”