The Democratic leader of the Maryland Senate is facing pressure, ridicule, and even a call for his ouster from members of his own party after he torpedoed a bid to draw new congressional lines to combat national Republicans.
Citing perceived legal and political risks, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson informed state lawmakers this week that he will prevent the General Assembly from conducting midcycle redistricting that Democrats say would have netted them an additional U.S. House seat and countered similar partisan efforts by Republican-led states.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) urged Ferguson to “reconsider” and expressed a need by Maryland Democrats to combat the GOP after Texas sparked a coast-to-coast frenzy to redraw districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a new trend he labeled as an attempt to “rewrite the rules for this election.”
“I was disappointed in his announcement and decision,” Van Hollen told the Washington Examiner. “I hope he’ll reconsider. I’ve always been for national, nonpartisan congressional line-drawing. I’ve supported legislation to that effect, but it’s been rejected by Republicans here in Congress. Maryland … should do everything we can to block the Republican effort to rig the congressional elections through redistricting.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of Senate Democratic leadership, offered a far harsher rebuke and demanded the party oust Ferguson. As one of the most outspoken advocates for Democrats to embrace the redistricting wars, Murphy has warned that party leaders in blue states would be “fools to observe norms” when Republicans are “destroying them.”
Ferguson “needs to get out of the way,” Murphy told the Washington Examiner. “And if he’s not willing to get out of the way, they should replace him. We don’t have time for weak s*** right now. We’re in a fight for our democracy’s survival, and if Democrats don’t get that, then they’ve just got to politely excuse themselves.”
The state’s other Democratic senator, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), declined to comment.
Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), a possible 2028 presidential hopeful who is seeking reelection next year, was among Maryland Democratic leaders supporting a new congressional map. He said the state “needs to have a backbone” against a Trump administration seeking to “rig the rules so they can try to win an election.”
“I will work with anyone to include not just Bill Ferguson, but everybody in the Maryland state Senate and everybody in the House of Delegates to make sure that in this moment, Maryland does not cow down,” Moore told reporters Wednesday. “And Maryland understands the assignment is ensuring that we can have fair maps that people can vote on next November.”
Ferguson did not respond to a request for comment.
His refusal to wade into the national redistricting fight dashed the hopes of Maryland Democrats to unseat the state’s only Republican, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who chairs the conservative Freedom Caucus. House Republicans will head into the midterm elections with a narrow majority, which could have major implications for each seat lost or gained.
Texas redrew its lines to net Republicans an extra five seats, while other red states, including Indiana, Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina, are seeking possible redistricting. States with Democratic legislatures such as Illinois, Virginia, and California are weighing the same. Maryland had also been among them.
Ferguson’s position, laid out in a letter to fellow state lawmakers, was rooted in concerns that redrawing Maryland’s lines would subject the current congressional map to legal scrutiny after a tenuous court battle in 2021 following the 2020 census, that new districts would not be in effect for the 2026 elections, and that it would fuel more Republican states to redistrict.
“Despite deeply shared frustrations about the state of our country, 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 wrote.
In a statement, Harris praised Ferguson for having “finally realized the inevitable” and cited his opposition as further evidence that Maryland’s map “is already gerrymandered to their advantage.”
“Any mid-decade redistricting would only expose that fact further and open the potential for a court-imposed nonpartisan map that could result in two or even three Republicans being elected,” Harris said, echoing a similar possible outcome that Ferguson relayed to his colleagues.
Ferguson also made the case that midcycle redistricting was akin to racial gerrymandering, which Maryland “has long fought against.” Ferguson is white, while the deep blue state’s governor, House speaker, and attorney general are black.
“It is hypocritical to say that it is abhorrent to tactically shift voters based on race, but not to do so based on party affiliation,” Ferguson wrote.
DEMOCRATS TRY TO KEEP UP WITH REPUBLICANS IN NATIONAL REDISTRICTING WAR
Ferguson acknowledged what he called an “all-out attack on the Democratic Party and the core of democracy” by GOP midcycle redistricting and actions by President Donald Trump. But Ferguson’s position atop the state Senate allows him to stand in the way of a new map, despite the desires to move forward by Moore, state House Speaker Adrienne Jones, and other Democratic state lawmakers.
“Instead of being subsumed by redistricting, we should focus on policies that will tangibly improve the lives of Marylanders in the face of this federal onslaught and demonstrate the power of states in checking a lawless president,” Ferguson concluded.