MD plan to redistrict could ‘backfire,’ republicans say
Salisbury, Md. – Maryland’s state committee is taking congressional map proposals in its latest step to redistrict its congressional lines. This comes after other states have made similar efforts to counter redistricting in Republican-led states.
However, there are Republicans who say that the plan could backfire in their favor.
“Well, there’s a part of me that says, you know, let’s go for it because I think it’s going to backfire on the Democrats,” Del. Tom Hutchinson, R-District 37B, said. “It’ll be great when we see that there’s now two or three republican seats in Congress as opposed to just one over here on the Eastern Shore.”
Many state republicans and state Senate President Bill Ferguson, a member of the Redistricting Advisory Commission, have said they oppose redrawing congressional maps and that there are bigger problems the legislature should contend with.
“They tried this before, after the 2020 census and, it didn’t work. They were challenged and a judge overrode their decision to do that,” R-District 38C Del. Wayne Hartman said. “So, why do they want to waste the time to continue doing this? We have so many bigger issues in the state of Maryland.”
The state legislature has to contend with a predicted budget shortfall of about $1.5 billion come next year.
“What I’ve been hearing from my constituents is that we have bigger problems than this,” Hutchinson said. “I don’t think redistricting should be anywhere on the agenda.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland) leads the state’s advisory commission on redistricting and said in a statement out of the governor’s office:
“At a moment when other states are moving aggressively to redraw maps – and with some already signaling they want the Supreme Court to weaken or effectively nullify key protections in the Voting Rights Act – Maryland cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. We have a responsibility to move forward so the next Congress reflects the will of the people and can serve as a real check on this President.”
However, Governor Wes Moore’s plan could it several roadblocks from the general assembly and court challenges from republicans.
“I don’t get a vote in this, but if they if they want to go ahead with it. We’re ready. We’re ready to go to court. We’re ready to challenge not only a new map, but we’re ready to challenge the current map,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-District 1) said in an interview with WMDT.
Alsobrooks announced that the commission will release the submitted maps after Christmas, and then hold two additional public meetings to gather feedback.
