Democrats eye Maryland and Illinois as Republicans press forward with redistricting push
Source: NBC News
Oct. 17, 2025, 5:00 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 17, 2025, 12:46 PM EDT
As Republicans across the country pursue new congressional maps to boost their party ahead of next year's midterm elections, Democrats are ramping up pressure on states where they can respond.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has held discussions with members of the Maryland delegation and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in recent weeks about possible mid-decade redistricting efforts, according to a source with knowledge of the conversations. The source also said Jeffries spoke with members of the Illinois delegation about drawing new district lines, as Politico first reported.
Maryland has just one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, in its eight-member House delegation. And in Illinois, where Democrats control 14 of the state's 17 districts, GOP Rep. Mary Miller's seat is the potential target, the source said. Democrats have previously floated Illinois and Maryland, where the party has full control of state government, as states where they could counter Republicans' moves in Texas, Missouri and elsewhere.
But Democrats are feeling renewed pressure to act as Republican lawmakers in states like North Carolina, Indiana and Kansas weigh new maps aimed at shoring up the party's narrow U.S. House majority. "The pressure will become greater with every additional red state that heeds Trump's call," said Maryland state Sen. Clarence Lam, a Democrat who introduced a bill to redraw the state's maps this summer.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrats-maryland-illinois-republicans-press-forward-redistricting-rcna237296
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