Maryland Must Counter Indiana Redistricting Move, Warns Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., stated Wednesday that if Republicans succeed in redrawing congressional maps in Indiana, Maryland must respond in kind.

The congressman noted that Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, had opposed his party’s redistricting effort in October after speaking with the Republican president of the Indiana Senate, who indicated he would not allow redistricting there. Raskin emphasized that if the Indiana Senate permits redistricting to proceed, it would intensify efforts to persuade Ferguson to support Maryland’s similar action.

“Every seat counts,” Raskin stressed. “We’re down three seats right now. We’re like in the trenches in World War I, fighting for every district. Nobody has the luxury of saying we’re above this.”

Raskin dismissed arguments that pressing for redistricting in Maryland would undermine democracy, arguing Republicans have long tilted electoral scales against Democrats and are simply rebalancing distribution.

The national political parties are engaged in an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle following President Donald Trump’s urging of Republican-led states to reshape House voting districts. Texas became the first state to act by passing a congressional map that could help Republicans win five additional seats, with the U.S. Supreme Court recently clearing the way for its use in 2026 elections. Similarly, new maps in Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio could yield four more Republican gains, while Indiana senators are considering a proposal that might secure two additional GOP seats.

Democrats have also scored recent victories: California voters approved a congressional map potentially giving them five additional seats, and a Utah judge imposed districts that could help the party pick up one of the state’s four seats.