First-term Democratic Gov. Wes Moore’s effort to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts ended without success as the 2026 Maryland General Assembly legislative session concluded Monday night in Annapolis.
The proposal, which passed the House of Delegates in early February on a 99-37 vote, stayed parked in a Senate committee and received no floor vote. Senate leadership, citing risks of legal challenges and potential loss of Democratic seats, declined to advance the measure.
Maryland’s current U.S. House delegation stands at 7-1 in favor of Democrats, with Republican Rep. Andy Harris holding the state’s only GOP seat. The map now in use was enacted in 2022 following the decennial census.
Moore launched the initiative last year by reconstituting the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. The panel reviewed public input and advanced a map concept in January 2026 aimed at increasing competitiveness and better reflecting voter preferences. House Bill 488, based on that work, moved quickly through the House but stalled in the Senate.
Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat and one of the state’s most influential lawmakers, maintained firm opposition throughout the process. Ferguson argued that pursuing a mid-decade redraw could trigger court battles similar to the 2021 case, in which a judge struck down an earlier map as extreme partisan gerrymandering. He warned that such litigation might jeopardize the seven Democratic seats rather than protect or expand them.
“The window of opportunity has closed,” Ferguson stated in February as the session progressed, emphasizing the need to avoid risks amid a national political environment that includes Republican control of the White House and Congress.
The Senate, with a 34-13 Democratic majority, lacked the unified support needed to move the bill forward. Some Democrats in the chamber expressed private concerns about timing and potential backlash, while House Democrats, holding a 102-39 edge, backed the plan as a response to redistricting actions in other states.
This Maryland effort emerged as part of a broader wave of mid-decade map changes. It followed Republican-led efforts in Texas urged by President Donald Trump. Similar processes are underway or planned in Florida, which began a special session this week, and Virginia, where voters face a referendum next week.
Standard redistricting occurs every 10 years after the census. For the 2026 elections, newly approved maps will take effect in states including California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Litigation continues in Georgia, Louisiana and New York, while a court-produced map applies in Utah.
Analyses of potential shifts from these changes suggest Republicans could net up to three additional seats nationally from states like Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Democrats could gain in California and Utah. Maryland’s proposal, had it passed, aimed to target Harris’s district but raised fears among some Democrats of unintended consequences in future court reviews.
The current 119th Congress composition shows Republicans at 217 seats, Democrats at 213, one independent and four vacancies. Midterm elections in November will determine the next balance.
No immediate path exists for reviving the Maryland map change before the 2026 elections. The failed effort highlights internal Democratic divisions in a state where the party holds strong majorities in both the governorship and legislature.
Southern Maryland, represented in part by Harris’s district that stretches into the region, would have seen boundary shifts under the proposed map. Local voters in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties have followed the debate closely, as congressional lines influence representation on issues ranging from defense and agriculture to Chesapeake Bay restoration.
The legislative session’s end, known as sine die, wrapped up other priorities, but the redistricting debate dominated early discussions and exposed tensions between the governor’s office and Senate leadership.
Moore had defended the process as transparent and necessary to counter actions elsewhere. In public statements, he urged lawmakers not to sit idle while other states adjusted maps.
With the bill now dead, Maryland will use its existing 2022 congressional boundaries for the November 2026 elections. Future changes would likely wait until after the 2030 census unless new litigation or legislative consensus emerges.
This outcome leaves the state’s 7-1 Democratic advantage intact for now, with Harris positioned to seek re-election in his current district.
