Maryland’s governor floats partisan redistricting plan

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Sunday told CBS that he was looking at options for redrawing his state’s congressional maps. A new redistricting plan could eliminate the one Republican U.S. House seat in the state, currently held by Rep. Andy Harris. Voters need fair maps, but all options should be on the table to stop President Donald Trump from manipulating elections, Moore said. Moore brought up congressional redistricting after days of sparring with President Donald Trump about reducing crime.

Moore is one of several Democratic governors working on redistricting in favor of their own party, after Trump pushed Texas and other states to redraw congressional maps in hopes of netting Republicans more U.S. House seats in the November 2026 elections. California last week passed legislation to send a redistricting referendum to voters this November.

How have Moore and Trump been arguing about crime prevention? After an earlier exchange about the deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Moore on Aug. 21 wrote to the president inviting him to participate in a local public safety walk to see how Baltimore was fighting crime. Moore later on Saturday said he wouldn’t authorize the use of the Maryland National Guard for any mission that wasn’t critical for the state or aligned with its goals. Trump on Sunday responded on social media, saying that Baltimore still had a crime problem and suggesting that, if it wasn’t appropriately addressed, he would send in federal troops.

How did Rep. Harris respond to Moore’s proposed plan? He reposted a Sunday statement by the Maryland Freedom Caucus, which said the governor wants only Democratic representatives, even though the state’s voters are 46% Republican or Independent. Maryland relies economically on the federal government, so angering the current administration could be dangerous, according to the Maryland Freedom Caucus.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report on California Republicans’ reactions to the partisan redistricting showdown.