After months of internal discord, Maryland Democrats now appear poised to redraw the state’s congressional map—a move that has exposed deep fractures within party leadership.

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson stated his long-held stance: “My job has been the same from day one: Protect Maryland in the fight against Donald Trump.” He explained that he previously refused to support a legal challenge for Maryland’s 7-1 congressional map, saying, “I wasn’t willing to gamble Democratic seats on a legal fight we could lose.”

Ferguson added that recent Supreme Court actions have shifted the landscape. “The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, and Southern legislatures are already using that ruling to wipe out minority districts,” he noted.

Earlier this month, Governor Wes Moore, who has been a vocal advocate for redistricting reform, pushed Maryland to join other Democratic states in responding to new maps favoring Republicans. “They want us to sit down and be quiet about it. Absolutely not,” Moore declared. “I’m never going to stop fighting for our democracy and anyone who’s waiting for me to stop fighting for democracy, they are going to be waiting a h of a long time.”

In August 2025, Governor Moore ordered the state’s congressional map to be redrawn following partisan interventions by Republican-led states. A new map drawn by the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission reshaped Maryland’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts in a way that could place the state’s sole Republican representative—Rep. Andy Harris, who has represented Maryland’s 1st Congressional District since 2011—at a disadvantage.

The House of Delegates has passed redistricting legislation (House Bill 488), but it remains stalled in the Senate Rules Committee. Ferguson, who had publicly opposed redrawing maps ahead of this year’s elections, now says he is open to a special session and constitutional amendment to address the issue. “We’ll meet after the primary to prepare— we must do this right, without risking what we have already won,” he stated.

Ferguson aims to draft a ballot initiative for Maryland voters in November to alter the state constitution and protect the new map from court challenges. He plans to convene the General Assembly after the June 23 primary.

Moore’s office insists on moving swiftly. A spokesperson noted Moore would prefer the legislature convene immediately to enact a new map, followed by a referendum for voter approval in November. “I’m glad to hear the Senate president is willing to have a conversation about it,” Moore said at a recent event. “I think it needs to include the maps.”

Ferguson’s shift in position—agreeing to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts for 2028 rather than this cycle—represents a stark contrast to his earlier opposition during spring redistricting battles, when his stance left party leaders including House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and Governor Moore bewildered.