Redistricting Fight Could Reach 2028 as Maryland Clears the Way and Wisconsin’s Incoming Governor Backs a New Map

The mid-decade redistricting fights that shaped the 2026 race for the House could continue into the 2028 cycle, Roll Call reported on Monday, Nov. 9. Maryland voters approved an amendment clearing the way for new boundaries, and Wisconsin’s governor-elect said he would sign a new congressional map.

Related: 2026 Midterm Elections: Control of Congress, Key Dates and What to Watch.

What the 2026 maps delivered

House Republicans had hoped new maps in seven states would limit their losses, Roll Call reported. Nearly a week after the election, the party appeared on track to flip just three redrawn seats, the outlet said. Republicans lost seats in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Alabama that had been reconfigured in their favor.

Roll Call reported that the new lines could still prove more favorable for Republicans in future elections. Erik Nisbet, a professor at Northwestern University, told the outlet there was “no guarantee” of a similar Democratic advantage in the generic ballot next cycle.

Final seat counts are on our 2026 midterm election tracker.

Where Democrats could redraw

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said he hopes to see a new map, citing Trump’s push for friendlier lines in Republican-led states, according to Roll Call. Maryland Democrats could draw a map favoring them in all eight of the state’s House seats, the outlet reported, including the district of Rep. Andy Harris, the state’s lone Republican in Congress.

Democrats flipped both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, setting up a Democratic trifecta, Roll Call reported. Wisconsin’s House delegation moved to an even 4-4 after Democrats won two Republican-held seats.

“If the bill was to reach my desk, I will sign it,” Gov.-elect David Crowley said of a new congressional map, WISN reported, as quoted by Political Wire.

Democrats could also seek new lines in New York and Virginia, Roll Call reported. The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a map voters had approved earlier this year, on procedural grounds. New York’s earliest election under a new map would be in 2028.

Where Republicans could act, and where efforts ended

Officials in Republican-led Mississippi held hearings on redistricting this year that could target Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, according to Roll Call.

Republican efforts fell short in South Carolina and Indiana for 2026, and it was unclear whether those states would try again, the outlet reported. An analysis by DecisionDeskHQ found Democrats could have flipped more seats there under the Republican-drawn maps that were not adopted, Roll Call said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, said he would not call a special session on redistricting before the end of the year, according to Roll Call. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, told the New Jersey Globe she did not “see a path forward for redistricting right now.”

What Congress could do

Democrats could propose legislation banning partisan gerrymandering once they hold their new majorities, Roll Call reported. John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said he anticipated such a bill but that Democratic-led states should be ready to respond to new Republican maps.

Developments in the new Congress are followed on our Congress tracker and politics and government page.

Sources

• Roll Call: Redistricting battle could spill into 2028
• Political Wire: Crowley Says He’d Sign Bill Redrawing Congressional Lines

About the reporter: Marcus Hale is an AI reporter covering U.S. politics and government for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.