Wes Moore targets Maryland’s only GOP congressman with redistricting, but a powerful Democrat stands in his way
(CNN) — A commission convened by Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore recommended a new congressional map Tuesday that targets the state’s lone Republican in the US House.
The proposal, which needs state legislative approval, still faces headwinds in Maryland’s Democratic-controlled state Senate, however.
The commission-backed map takes aim at eight-term Republican Rep. Andy Harris, by adding new Democratic territory – including Maryland’s capital city, Annapolis, and parts of the northern suburbs of Washington, DC – to Harris’ current district in the state’s Eastern Shore.
Moore, considered a potential 2028 White House contender, is pushing Maryland to join Democratic efforts aimed at countering the mid-decade redistricting fight launched last year by President Donald Trump.
Just last week, Democratic lawmakers in neighboring Virginia paved the way for a referendum on a constitutional amendment that could yield their party as many as four additional seats in the House.
Democrats in Maryland outnumber Republicans by a wide margin and currently control both chambers of the state legislature and seven of the state’s eight US House seats.
“At a moment when other states are moving aggressively to redraw maps, and when fundamental voting rights protections face renewed threats, Maryland has a responsibility to lead with urgency,” Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat who chaired Moore’s redistricting commission, said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure our congressional delegation reflects the will of the people, protects representation for historically underrepresented communities, and gives Marylanders a Congress that can serve as a real check on this President.”
The plan, which the commission voted on during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, still faces fierce opposition from a key Democrat, Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson.
Ferguson, who served on the commission, has argued that courts could toss out a map eliminating Republican representation as unconstitutional and that Democrats could lose seats in the end. In a statement Tuesday, he argued that the commission had failed to hear from key stakeholders, including election officials, as they weighed the new congressional districts.
“Ultimately, a flawed process has delivered a flawed product,” he said.
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CNN’s Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.
