Top Maryland Democrat defies Jeffries on mid-cycle redistricting push to boot state's lone Republican

By Fox News · Fox News

A top Democrat in Maryland's state legislature threw cold water on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' campaign to oust the state's lone Republican from Congress. Jeffries, D-N.Y., was in Annapolis on Wednesday meeting with state leaders to discuss redrawing Maryland's congressional map before the November 2026 midterms. He's one of the highest-profile Democrats pushing the state to join the growing redistricting war, which could see Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., effectively drawn out of the one Republican-leaning district in the state. That would require both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly to approve a new map recommended by Gov. Wes Moore's redistricting commission earlier this year. But Senate President Bill Ferguson is resisting pressure from fellow Democrats. BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE "It's precisely because we want Leader Jeffries in the majority that most members in the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus do not support moving forward with mid-cycle redistricting that will backfire in our State courts and lose Democrats in Congress," Ferguson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. It's a position he's held since last year, when he wrote a letter to state Democrats warning that "mid-cycle redistricting for Maryland presents a reality where the legal risks are too high, the timeline for action is dangerous, the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic, and the certainty of our existing map would be undermined." Ferguson said they also discussed "the importance of responding to the lawless Trump Administration through economic, social, and immigration policies" and how they could cooperate in those areas. SCOTUS ALLOWS TEXAS TO USE TRUMP-PUSHED REDRAWN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING MAP FAVORING REPUBLICANS But redistricting remains a sticking point dividing Democrats in the Old Line State. Moore, who spoke with Fox News Digital on Wednesday, called for Ferguson to at least allow a vo…