President Donald Trump’s call to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of the 2026 elections has led to a wave of political maneuvering among state-level Republicans and Democrats that continues to ripple across the country.
Politicians are reshaping congressional voting districts — a task typically done just once a decade, after each census — in an effort to give their parties’ candidates an edge in next year’s elections. The stakes are high because Democrats need to gain just three seats to wrest control of the House from Republicans, who are trying to buck a historical pattern of the president’s party losing seats in midterm elections.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Which states are considering redistricting?
The redistricting efforts have triggered protests, petition drives, ad campaigns and lawsuits.
View details below on states in the redistricting battle,
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STATES WHERE LEGISLATURES HAVE PASSED NEW MAPS:
TEXAS
Federal judges in Texas are considering a legal challenge to new congressional districts passed at Trump’s urging during a special legislative session in August. Civil rights groups and dozens of Black and Hispanic voters contend the new map intentionally reduces minority voters’ influence in violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. They want to prevent the new districts from being used.
Republicans hold 25 of the 38 congressional seats in Texas. The revised map could give Republicans a shot at picking up five additional seats in next year’s elections.
CALIFORNIA
Voting has begun in California in advance of a Nov. 4 election that will determine whether new congressional districts are implemented.
Democrats already hold 43 of California’s 52 seats. But after Texas undertook redistricting, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom urged California lawmakers to reciprocate. They did so by passing a revised U.S. House map that could give Democrats a chance to gain five additional seats.
Unlike Texas, California has an independent citizens’ commission that handles redistricting after the census. So any changes to the map need voter approval.
MISSOURI
After Texas and California took action, Missouri lawmakers joined the redistricting battle by passing a revised U.S. House map designed to give Republicans a shot at winning seven of the state’s eight districts — one more than they currently hold. The map targets a seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by stretching the Kansas City-based district into rural Republican areas and reducing the number of minority voters.
Opponents are pursuing a referendum petition that, if successful, would force a statewide vote on the new map. They have until Dec. 11 to submit around 110,000 valid signatures, which would put the map on hold until a public vote. Opponents also have filed several lawsuits asserting that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.
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STATES THAT MUST REDRAW U.S. HOUSE DISTRICTS:
OHIO
Ohio will have new U.S. House districts for the 2026 elections, though their shape remains to be determined. Republicans currently hold 10 of the state’s 15 congressional seats.
Ohio’s constitution requires new U.S. House districts because the ones adopted by Republican officials after the 2020 census didn’t have sufficient bipartisan support. If bipartisan consensus remains elusive, Republican lawmakers in November could adopt revised districts without need of any Democratic votes.
UTAH
Utah’s Republican-led Legislature passed a revised U.S. House map that could give Democrats an improved chance at competing for a seat. Republicans currently hold all four of the state’s seats.
The revised map would place Democratic-leaning Salt Lake City in a single district that stretches into rural areas, instead of splitting the city among multiple districts. But the revision still must be reviewed by a judge, who is expected to approve a new map by November.
A Utah judge in August struck down the House districts adopted after the 2020 census because the Republican-led Legislature circumvented an independent redistricting commission established by voters.
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STATES CONSIDERING MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING:
FLORIDA
Republican state House Speaker Daniel Perez has said his chamber will take up redistricting through a special committee. Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has reiterated his support for the state to join the redistricting fray.
ILLINOIS
Democrats already hold 14 of the 17 U.S. House seats in Illinois. But Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has said it’s possible to redraw even more districts favoring Democrats.
INDIANA
Pressure from Trump to redraw House districts has been mounting on Indiana Republicans. Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, said a legislative session on redistricting probably will happen, and it could come as soon as November. Republican legislative leaders have met privately with Trump. But Braun has been waiting to call a special session until he is confident it will succeed.
Republicans hold a 7-2 edge over Democrats in Indiana’s congressional delegation. The GOP likely would target a northwest Indiana seat held by Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan. Republicans also could attempt to slice up an Indianapolis district held by a Democrat, but that could stir opposition by diluting minority voters’ influence.
KANSAS
Republican lawmakers who hold a supermajority in the Kansas Legislature have been gathering petition signatures from colleagues in an attempt to call a special session on congressional redistricting in November. They are taking that route because Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is unlikely to call a special session.
Republicans already hold three of the state’s four congressional districts. A revised map would target the suburban Kansas City district held by Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids.
LOUISIANA
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 15 in a legal challenge to Louisiana’s U.S. House districts, currently held by four white Republicans and two Black Democrats. A lawsuit contends state lawmakers wrongly used racial demographics when redrawing districts in response to a previous court ruling to give Black voters a better chance at electing the representative of their choice in two districts instead of one.
State lawmakers have been told to keep their calendars open between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13 in case the Supreme Court rules quickly and lawmakers could return for a special session on redistricting.
MARYLAND
Some Democratic state lawmakers have said they will file redistricting legislation for the 2026 session, and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore also has expressed support.
Democrats control seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats and could target an eastern Maryland district held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris.
NEW YORK
New York has an independent commission that redraws districts after every census. State Democrats have introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting, but the soonest new maps could be in place would be for the 2028 elections. That is because the proposal would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the Legislature twice and be approved by voters.
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NEW GERRYMANDERING COULD DISRUPT NATIONAL POLITICAL EQUILIBRIUM
The push to redraw districts for partisan advantage — a process known as gerrymandering — is unfolding during a time of unusual political balance in Congress.
The 220-215 House majority that Republicans won over Democrats in the 2024 elections aligns almost perfectly with the share of the vote the two parties received in districts across the U.S., according to a recent Associated Press analysis.
Although Democrats and Republicans each benefited from the way districts were drawn in particular states, those advantages essentially canceled each other out. When adding results from all states, the AP’s analysis showed that Democrats nationwide won just a fraction of a seat more than expected last year. Because congressional seats aren’t allotted by fractions, the net result was that each party’s share of House seats corresponded with their share of the votes.
