The redistricting arms race sparked by President Donald Trump has spawned congressional maps across the country that have greatly benefited Republicans as they try to maintain their narrow control of the House.<\/p>\n
Read more Arkansas reinstates men\u2019s and women\u2019s tennis programs after donors provide short-term funding<\/a><\/p>\n Republicans in seven states \u2014 Alabama, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas \u2014 have adopted maps more favorable to their party since last summer. Democrats have responded by drawing a friendlier map for themselves in California and unsuccessfully trying to do the same in Virginia.<\/p>\n A judge approved a new map for Utah that is likely to give Democrats a seat there, and courts are considering challenges elsewhere. In January, a panel of federal judges allowed California\u2019s new map to stand, giving Democrats a victory.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court weighed in<\/a> on one of the biggest prizes \u2014 Texas \u2014 in December, clearing the way for the map to take effect after a three-judge panel previously ruled against it.<\/p>\n The high court ruling was a victory for Trump and his party. The justices gave an even bigger win to Republicans in April, when they weakened a major component of the Voting Rights Act<\/a> and gave Republicans more opportunities to draw districts in their favor. The decision set off a fresh round of last-minute redistricting ahead of the midterm elections that is likely to end the careers of many Black lawmakers.<\/p>\n States typically draw new district lines once a decade, after each census, or if a map is struck down in court. There is also a tight timeline to get changes into place before the midterm elections this fall.<\/p>\n Republicans hold a 217-212 House majority, with five vacancies and one independent, and any change to the congressional map could determine which party controls the chamber next term.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at some of the targets and the steps involved to change political boundaries in these states \u2014 and whether the districts leaned toward Trump or Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n The redistricting battle began with Texas, where Trump pressed Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to draw congressional boundaries with more safely red seats. Republicans complied and approved a map that could give them up to five more seats. Voting rights groups sued, and a three-judge panel struck down the new map<\/a> as a racial gerrymander. The Supreme Court ruling in December ensured the new map will take effect.<\/p>\n Republicans control 25 of Texas\u2019s 38 House seats. The new map is more partisan and includes 30 districts that recorded double-digit vote margins <\/b>for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Two Democratic House members from Texas \u2014 Rep. Henry Cuellar in the 28th District and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in the 34th \u2014 represent districts that split the ticket and favored Trump in 2024. Both districts have been redrawn to shift further to the right.<\/p>\n California was the second state to jump<\/a> into the redistricting battle. In response to the potential Republican pickups in Texas, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and state Democrats proposed a new map that would potentially turn five House seats blue, evening the score with the actions in Texas.<\/p>\n Approving a new map wasn\u2019t as easy<\/a> as in Texas. California normally uses an independent commission to draw congressional and state legislative districts, which was put in place to make map-drawing less political. Lawmakers sought permission to sidestep the commission to adopt a new map, and voters signed off on the idea<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n The map California used in the 2024 elections was already deeply blue, with Democrats holding all but nine of the state\u2019s 52 House seats. But many of the districts were considered competitive. In 2024, the presidential vote margin in 15 congressional districts was 10 points or less. The new <\/b>map shifted most of the state\u2019s competitive districts toward the left.<\/p>\n Republican state lawmakers in October approved a new map<\/a> that will probably give them another district. Already, Republicans hold 10 of the state\u2019s 14 districts.<\/p>\n Republicans control both houses of the legislature, and they quickly approved the new map. North Carolina\u2019s constitution does not give the governor the power to veto redistricting plans, so Gov. Josh Stein (D) was unable to block the map.<\/p>\n A group of voters sued, but, in a November decision, a panel of three federal judges allowed the new map<\/a> to be used.<\/p>\n Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) called a September special legislative session<\/a> to push through a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan, dubbed the \u201cMissouri First Map.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The plan cleared both chambers and was signed by Kehoe. The new map would squeeze an additional red seat by carving up the 5th District, held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D). This solid-blue district, which includes Kansas City, heavily favored Harris in 2024.<\/p>\n Dividing Kansas City for a new GOP seat leaves only one solid-blue district in Missouri \u2014 the 1st District around St. Louis.<\/p>\n A judge in November ordered a new map<\/a> for Utah that will probably give Democrats one of the state\u2019s four congressional districts. Her ruling came after an earlier decision<\/a> found the state\u2019s map violated the Utah Constitution by improperly splitting Salt Lake County.<\/p>\n Ohio\u2019s bipartisan redistricting commission approved<\/a> a new map in October, giving Republicans better odds of winning two more House seats.<\/p>\n With bipartisan approval in the commission, the map does not need approval from the Republican-held state legislature. The state was required to create a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms after the state Supreme Court struck down the map drawn after the 2020 Census. In 2022, the Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted a map that could be used only until 2026.<\/p>\n Republicans control 10 of the 15 seats in Ohio and will have better odds in two <\/b>districts <\/b>under the new compromise map. The 1st District, represented by Rep. Greg Landsman (D), will slightly favor Republicans. The 9th District, represented by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), will have a larger Republican advantage than it already does. The 13th District, represented by Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes (D), will lean slightly Democratic.<\/p>\n Read more Louisiana, at center of voting rights fight, moves to redraw Black House district<\/a><\/p>\n Democrats who control the state legislature asked voters in January for permission<\/a> to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map in their favor. Voters in April signed off<\/a> on a map that could give Democrats as many as 10 of the state\u2019s 11 districts. Currently, they have six.<\/p>\n The Virginia Supreme Court in May blocked the new map<\/a> and reinstated the one that has been used in recent elections. The court ruled in its 4-3 decision that lawmakers violated the state constitution in establishing the ballot measure.<\/p>\n Florida lawmakers approved a new map<\/a> in April that could give Republicans 24 out of 28 seats, four more than they currently hold. Voting rights groups have sued to block the new map, saying it violates a provision of the state constitution that bars drawing political boundaries for partisan gain.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s congressional map has shifted in favor of Republicans in recent years. The GOP picked up four seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pushed state lawmakers to redraw the map in 2022.<\/p>\n Responding to the Supreme Court\u2019s decision on the Voting Rights Act, GOP lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new map<\/a> in May that is expected to net Republicans one more seat.<\/p>\n The new map breaks up a district in the Memphis area, spreading its Democratic-leaning voters across conservative territory.<\/p>\n Republicans cited the Voting Rights Act decision in asking the Supreme Court to lift a court order that prevented the state from using a map approved by lawmakers in 2023. The justices granted that request<\/a> in May, clearing the way for the state to use a map that would probably give Republicans one more House seat.<\/p>\n Gov. Kay Ivey (R) has delayed primaries in four House races because of the changes to the district lines. Those primaries are now slated to be held on Aug. 11 instead of May 19. Litigation is ongoing before a lower court.<\/p>\n Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) suspended the state\u2019s May 16 primaries in House races after the Supreme Court issued its decision on the Voting Rights Act. GOP lawmakers are now considering a map that could give them one of the state\u2019s House seats now held by Democrats.<\/p>\n GOP state lawmakers are debating a plan to slice up the district of South Carolina\u2019s lone Democrat, Rep. James E. Clyburn, giving Republicans control of all seven of the state\u2019s congressional districts.<\/p>\n Republicans in Indiana\u2019s state House in December approved<\/a> a new map, but their GOP counterparts in the state Senate rejected it<\/a> a week later. It marked the biggest rebuke yet from members of Trump\u2019s own party to his redistricting effort.<\/p>\n The map Republicans proposed would have allowed them to win all nine of the state\u2019s congressional districts. Currently, they hold seven of them.<\/p>\n The now-rejected map was aimed at wiping out the electoral prospects of Rep. Frank J. Mrvan (D), whose district includes the edges of suburban Chicago, and Rep. Andr\u00e9 Carson (D), who represents Indianapolis and is the only Black member of the state\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n Trump and his allies declared war on seven Republican state senators who defied the president by backing primary challengers to them. The GOP opponents defeated at least five of them<\/a> in May primaries, with a sixth race too close to call and possibly heading to a recount.<\/p>\n Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and some Democratic state lawmakers pushed for a new map that would be likely to give them all of the state\u2019s congressional districts. Democrats already hold seven of the state\u2019s eight seats, and a new map would give them a shot at laying claim to the one held by Rep. Andy Harris (R), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n An advisory commission recommended a new map in January<\/a>, but its proposal split Democrats who control the state legislature. Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson (D), long an opponent of redistricting in the middle of the decade, halted action on the map.<\/p>\n In January, a New York judge invalidated the district<\/a> held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R), finding that its makeup violates a provision of the state constitution that protects the voting rights of racial minorities. The Supreme Court in March blocked the decision<\/a>, which probably would have given Democrats a good chance of winning the seat. The district includes Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n