House Dems Advance Map to Reshape State’s Congressional Delegation

Maryland Democrats just launched a mid-decade power grab to eliminate the state’s only Republican congressional seat, and they’re willing to blow up election timelines to do it.

Story Snapshot

Maryland House Democrats passed a new congressional map 99-37 on February 2, 2026, designed to flip all eight districts Democratic by targeting GOP Rep. Andy Harris’s District 1
Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, opposes the map citing constitutional flaws, rushed timelines, and risks of delaying primaries to September
The redistricting follows Trump-era Republican gerrymandering in other states, sparking a national arms race with Maryland Democrats claiming defensive necessity
Maryland’s Attorney General warns the process needs 100-120 days for legal preparation, potentially jeopardizing the February 24 candidate filing deadline
The map mirrors Maryland’s 2021 redistricting debacle, when the state Supreme Court struck down an earlier Democratic gerrymander as unconstitutionally extreme

The Arms Race Nobody Asked For

Governor Wes Moore created the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission in November 2025, responding to Republican redistricting efforts in states like Florida under Ron DeSantis. Maryland Democrats frame this as defensive maneuvering against GOP gerrymandering elsewhere, but their 7-1 congressional advantage already reflects a heavily Democratic state. The commission held public hearings and received submissions from citizens, including David Kunes, whose map became the template. Then the commission voted privately on January 20, 2026, to recommend the new boundaries to the General Assembly. Republicans and even some Democrats questioned why transparency suddenly evaporated at the decision point.

Ferguson Breaks Ranks and Burns Bridges

Senate President Bill Ferguson, himself a GRAC member, threw cold water on the entire enterprise. He called the process “constitutionally weak” and warned that the Attorney General’s office confirmed the impossibly tight timeline. Ferguson noted that 2021’s redistricting litigation delayed candidate filings by months, pushing primaries from June to July. This time, if litigation follows the same pattern, Maryland could face filing deadlines extending to May or June, primaries sliding to September, and general election ballots colliding with an already chaotic 2026 midterm cycle. Ferguson prioritized addressing inflation and federal policy threats over intra-party squabbles, making clear the Senate won’t rubber-stamp the map just because the House did.

The Eastern Shore Becomes Collateral Damage

The proposed map surgically removes Republican-leaning Cecil and Harford counties from District 1, replacing them with Democratic strongholds in Anne Arundel and Howard counties. This reshapes the Eastern Shore’s representation, diluting its conservative voice by merging it with suburban Baltimore populations that vote overwhelmingly blue. Representative Andy Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s delegation, criticized the commission’s work as predetermined despite public input theatrics. Residents of the Eastern Shore now face representation dictated by Anne Arundel commuters rather than neighbors who share their rural priorities and values. Democrats claim the map uplifts underrepresented communities, but the communities losing representation happen to be conservative ones.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

Maryland’s Supreme Court struck down the 2021 congressional map as extreme partisan gerrymandering in a ruling by Judge Lynn A. Battaglia. Democrats redrew it in 2022, preserving their 7-1 advantage but avoiding constitutional violations. Now they’re risking another legal battle three years later, banking on the notion that protecting power justifies procedural chaos. The Attorney General’s warning about trial preparation time echoes the 2021-2022 delays, which disrupted campaigns, confused voters, and forced emergency legislative sessions. Ferguson’s caution stems from institutional memory, not squeamishness. Democrats who champion voting rights and election integrity now jeopardize both to gain one more House seat.

The Transparent Process That Happened Behind Closed Doors

Governor Moore praised the commission as a “remarkably transparent process” compared to Republican efforts elsewhere. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who chaired GRAC, emphasized public input and community feedback as driving the recommendations. Yet the commission’s final vote occurred privately, shielded from the very transparency they touted. When Republicans and Ferguson questioned the secrecy, Democrats defended it as standard practice for deliberative bodies. This rings hollow when the process determines whether half a million Eastern Shore residents get meaningful representation. Transparency that ends before decisions get made isn’t transparency; it’s performative public relations designed to manufacture consent while insiders cut deals away from scrutiny.

The National Implications of Local Gamesmanship

Maryland’s redistricting gambit positions the state at the forefront of Democratic efforts to counter Republican map manipulation ahead of the 2026 midterms. States like Florida, Texas, Missouri, and Indiana pursued or planned redistricting sessions following Trump’s 2025 calls for partisan advantage. Democrats argue they’re evening the playing field, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Gerrymandering corrodes democratic legitimacy regardless of which party wields the pen. Maryland Democrats had the opportunity to champion fair redistricting standards and neutral commissions as a national model. Instead, they chose to join the arms race, proving that principle bends easily when power is at stake. The Senate’s resistance offers a slim chance for course correction, but House Democrats and Governor Moore seem determined to plow forward, election chaos and constitutional questions be damned.

Ferguson holds the cards now, and his skepticism reflects practical concerns about litigation, timelines, and the state’s credibility after 2021’s gerrymandering fiasco. If the Senate stalls or kills the map, Maryland’s congressional boundaries remain unchanged for 2026, preserving Andy Harris’s seat and Democrats’ complaints about unfair national redistricting. If Democrats force the map through over Ferguson’s objections, they guarantee lawsuits, potential primary delays, and voter confusion, all to eliminate one Republican congressman in a state where Democrats already dominate. The trade-off reveals priorities: power over process, partisanship over prudence, and short-term gains over long-term democratic health. Maryland voters deserve better, but they’re unlikely to get it from legislators more focused on Washington seat counts than Annapolis accountability.