The map that Maryland Democrats are considering to rewrite congressional district lines could oust Rep. Andy Harris, the state’s lone Republican representative, The Washington Post reported. Harris, who represents Maryland’s Eastern Shore, chairs the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
The proposed map, which would give Democrats all of Maryland’s eight congressional seats, has support from national Democrats eager to net as many seats as possible to gain control of the U.S. House. It redistributes much of the state’s high-density population in the Interstate 95 corridor, spreading out Democrats who live in the suburbs of Washington into different districts and dividing Baltimore’s Democrats roughly in half.
The Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission has no power to enact new districts. But the map it approved in concept will be taken up by the legislature within a week or so, making Maryland among the last states to redraw its congressional boundaries.
But it faces an uphill battle in Maryland’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) refuses to support midcycle redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, saying it will backfire. Ferguson, a lawyer, is on the commission that approved the conceptual map over his objections during a closed-door session on Tuesday. He called it “objectively unconstitutional.”
