In a significant move, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, is leading a new initiative to consider adjusting the state’s congressional districts through a redistricting advisory commission.

On Tuesday, Moore’s office announced this effort in a press release, stating that the commission will conduct public hearings and gather input to guide its recommendations on redrawing district lines. The commission, chaired by Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who assumed office last November, is tasked with presenting its findings to Governor Moore and the Maryland General Assembly.

“From the outset, my goal has been straightforward: to ensure that Maryland has equitable and representative district maps,” Moore emphasized in the announcement. “This commission is a step towards ensuring that the voices of our citizens are reflected in our political boundaries.”

According to the Maryland election board’s October report, Republicans make up about 23.8 percent of the state’s 4.3 million registered voters. Currently, Rep. Andy Harris, representing the Eastern Shore, is the sole Republican among Maryland’s eight congressional representatives.

Maryland’s consideration of new congressional maps comes as other states like Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio undertake similar efforts. Additionally, on Tuesday, California voters will decide on Proposition 50, which, if approved, would shift the responsibility for drawing the state’s congressional maps from an independent commission to the state Legislature.

President Trump has pushed for GOP-led states to redraw their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, and he even called on the Commerce Department to conduct a new census ahead of the next scheduled survey in 2030.

Moore’s redistricting push comes after Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) came out in opposition to such efforts last Tuesday. 

In a letter to his colleagues, obtained by Politico, Ferguson said the downsides of redrawing Maryland’s congressional maps mid-decade are “catastrophic” and that the process would risk ceding another seat to Republicans via a legal fight. 

Of the seven members of the Maryland Supreme Court, five were appointed by former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, whom Alsobrooks defeated last fall. 

On Tuesday, Ferguson said in a release on the social platform X that if the commission intends “to hear directly from Marylanders,” the Senate will participate in “in-person listening sessions” in the state’s eight congressional districts.

“Marylanders’ voices remain central to this process, and these public meetings will provide an opportunity for voters to hear about the unique legal barriers in Maryland — barriers that could unintentionally give Donald Trump another one or two of Maryland’s congressional seats should this effort backfire in our courts,” the Baltimore Democrat added.