Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson dashed Democrats' hopes the state would join the national redistricting battle, telling colleagues that the chamber would not try to redraw the state's congressional map.
“The Senate is choosing not to move forward with mid-cycle congressional redistricting,” Ferguson said in a three-page letter to state Democratic lawmakers that was shared with NBC News. “In short, the risk of redrawing the congressional map in Maryland is too high, making the unlikely possibility that we gain a seat not worth pursuing.”
Maryland is among the Democratic-led states the party has been eyeing to respond to Republicans enacting new gerrymandered maps in three states at President Donald Trump's urging ahead of next year's midterm elections.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has held discussions with members of the Maryland delegation and Gov. Wes Moore, and state Sen. Clarence Lam introduced a bill to draw new district lines. Jeffries was informed Tuesday that Ferguson planned to announce the decision not to move forward with new maps, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
On Wednesday, Jeffries appeared to push back on Ferguson's stance.
“It’s my expectation, based on my conversations with Gov. Moore, my conversations with leadership in the Maryland General Assembly and my conversations, certainly, with the Maryland congressional delegation, that the state of Maryland knows what the stakes are, understands the assignment, and as we are seeing in multiple other states will respond aggressively and appropriately in short order,” Jeffries said.
In a lengthy statement, Moore said in part that he believed: "That Maryland needs to stand up. That Maryland needs to have a voice, and Maryland needs to have a backbone."
He continued: "And so I will work with anyone to include not just Bill Ferguson, but everybody in the Maryland State Senate and everybody in the House of Delegates to make sure that in this moment, Maryland does not cow down. And Maryland understands the assignment is ensuring that we can have fair maps that people can vote on next November.”
Ferguson did not respond to a request for comment and Lam declined to comment.
In the letter, Ferguson acknowledged the pressure lawmakers face to boost the Democratic Party nationally. But he said he believes any redistricting effort could open the state up to a court-ordered map that might give Republicans another seat. Currently, Democrats control seven of Maryland's eight congressional districts.
Ferguson said he hoped Maryland’s refusal to enter the fray would give cover to other Republican states resisting pressure from Trump to redraw their maps, while adding that the effort could result in racial gerrymandering, too.
“It is hypocritical to say that it is abhorrent to tactically shift voters based on race, but not to do so based on party affiliation. As we weigh the risk and grounds for mid-cycle redistricting in Maryland, it is important to acknowledge the jurisprudence and work of many to create racially fair maps.”
Ferguson's letter comes as the redistricting arms race continues to expand nationally. Earlier this week, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called for a special legislative session on redistricting, though support for such a measure among GOP lawmakers remains uncertain.
Elsewhere, Louisiana Republicans are expected to pass legislation this week to move back the date of their spring elections to prepare for the possibility that a Supreme Court ruling could allow them to enact new maps. In Virginia, Democrats are working to modify their redistricting commission to allow them to pursue a mid-decade redistricting effort.
Republicans in North Carolina, Missouri and Texas have enacted new maps this year aimed at helping the party shore up its narrow House majority in the 2026 elections.
California voters will decide next week whether to allow a new map that could net Democrats five House seats. And Jeffries visited with Democrats in Illinois earlier this week to discuss a possible redistricting push.
