Primary elections are already taking place in some areas, but a nationwide fight over congressional district maps continues to unfold as the November midterm elections approach.
Congressional district boundaries remain up in the air in Missouri, New York, Utah and Virginia. Meanwhile, governors in Florida and Maryland are pressuring their state legislatures to redraw House districts. These efforts add to redistricting changes that have already been implemented in California, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
While congressional maps are normally redrawn every ten years following the census, former President Donald Trump sparked an uncommon mid-decade redistricting effort last summer when he encouraged Texas Republicans to alter House districts to benefit the GOP in the midterms. Democratic leaders in California responded in kind, setting off a nationwide redistricting battle.
Republicans estimate they could secure nine extra seats in states where they’ve successfully redrawn congressional maps, while Democrats project they might pick up six seats in other areas due to redistricting efforts. However, these projections depend on historical voting trends continuing through November. That outcome remains questionable, particularly since the party holding power usually loses congressional seats during midterm elections and Trump’s poll numbers show negative approval ratings.
Democrats only need to pick up a handful of seats in November to take House control away from Republicans, which would enable them to block Trump’s legislative priorities.
Missouri
Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe approved a revised House map last fall that could help Republicans secure one more seat.
Challenges: Opposition groups filed petition signatures in December attempting to force a statewide vote on the map. The Republican secretary of state has until August to verify the petition’s legality and signature count. Multiple lawsuits are also challenging the new districts’ legality.
Maryland
Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican
Proposed map: The Democratic-controlled state House approved a redistricting plan supported by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats gain another seat.
Challenges: The Democratic state Senate president stated his chamber won’t proceed with redistricting due to worries it might hurt Democrats.
New York
Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans
Proposed map: A judge ordered a state commission in January to redraw boundaries for New York City’s only Republican-held congressional district, ruling it unconstitutionally weakens Black and Hispanic voters’ influence.
Challenges: Republicans lost their state court appeal but have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
Utah
Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans
New map: A judge imposed revised House districts in November that could help Democrats win a seat. The court determined lawmakers had bypassed anti-gerrymandering rules approved by voters when creating the previous map.
Challenges: Republicans are fighting the court-ordered map in both the state Supreme Court and federal court.
Florida
Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans
Proposed map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he will convene a special legislative session in April focusing on congressional redistricting.
Challenges: A lawsuit claims DeSantis lacks legal authority to call the special session. The state constitution prohibits drawing districts intended to help or hurt a political party or incumbent.
Texas
Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed revised House districts into law last August that could help Republicans gain five more seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in December for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It suspended a lower-court decision that had blocked the new map for being “racially gerrymandered.”
California
Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans
New map: Voters approved revised House districts in November drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections in February. It rejected an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, who argued the districts improperly favor Hispanic voters.
North Carolina
Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: The Republican-controlled General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans gain another seat.
Challenges: A federal court panel denied a request in November to prevent the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.
Ohio
Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: A bipartisan panel with a Republican majority approved revised House districts in October that improve Republicans’ odds of winning two more seats.
Challenges: None. The state constitution mandated new districts before the 2026 election. Since Republicans had passed the previous maps without adequate Democratic support, they were set to expire after the 2024 election.
