After weeks of public input, Gov. Wes Moore’s Redistricting Advisory Commission voted privately Tuesday to recommend redrawing Maryland’s Congressional district lines to favor Democrats across the board.

The decision keeps Maryland active in a nationwide redistricting “arms race,” which was sparked by President Trump’s request for Republican-led states to redistrict in favor of the GOP ahead of the 2026 election.

Seven of Maryland’s eight Congressional seats are held by Democrats, but proponents of redistricting believe a new map could be drawn to oust the state’s sole Republican seat and help counter redistricting moves made by red states.

Moore’s commission settled on a map that appears poised to give Maryland their sought-after (further) Democratic edge.

The map was submitted by David Kunes and heavily supported during public comment at the commission’s final meeting last week.

The map proposes taking Cecil and Hartford Counties out of District 1 — currently held by Republican Andy Harris — and looping in Democratic-leaning parts of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties.

While current Congressional lines would shift throughout the state due to the change, the map appears to favor Democratic voters in all eight districts.

“At a moment when other states are moving aggressively to redraw maps, and when fundamental voting rights protections face renewed threats, Maryland has a responsibility to lead with urgency. Our goal is to ensure our congressional delegation reflects the will of the people, protects representation for historically underrepresented communities, and gives Marylanders a Congress that can serve as a real check on this President,” Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Chair of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, said in a statement.

The map could be taken up by Maryland’s House of Delegates any day, which appears to have the votes to approve it, but the real test lies within the Senate.

Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) — a member of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission — has been clear about his objection to redistricting in Maryland since the option was put on the table.

Ferguson reinforced his opposition in a statement following the commission’s decision Tuesday.

“The Governor's Commission recommended a map today that is objectively unconstitutional and jeopardizes Maryland's existing map. From the outset, the Senate's position has been consistent: in this important moment, Maryland cannot risk going backwards by giving the Trump Administration another seat or two in Congress from Maryland’s delegation,” he said.

Ferguson is concerned that a new map could not only be struck down by the court, but that the litigation would open up Maryland’s current Congressional map to legal scrutiny.

Maryland Democrats already tried to approve an 8-0 map in 2021, but it was ultimately rejected by the court for illegal partisan gerrymandering – the commission-selected map does vary from the 2021 proposal.

“Further, this map fails the Governor’s own test. It breaks apart more neighborhoods and communities than our existing map, and it fails the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote,” Ferguson said. “We heard from no Boards of Elections. We heard nothing from the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, which would have to defend this process and outcome. We heard no testimony to the impact on our election cycle. Ultimately, a flawed process has delivered a flawed product.”

Ferguson says he has also been advised by the Attorney General’s Office that it would need at least 120 days to prepare for the inevitable case against a redistricting effort.

The filing deadline for Congressional candidates in Maryland is February 24 — if a new map were enacted, that deadline would likely need to be extended.

When asked about the privacy of the commission’s decision ahead of the announcement, Moore told members of the press: “I know that the process that's happening later on today is an administrative meeting that is very consistent with what has happened with prior redistricting commissions.”

“I'm looking forward to hearing the conclusion from the redistricting commission for the months of work that this bipartisan commission has gotten done and hearing their recommendations and having it go to the General Assembly,” he said.