Raskin Warns Maryland Must Respond to Indiana’s Redistricting Move

By Brian Freeman | Wednesday, 10 December 2025 05:21 PM EST

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., warned Wednesday that Maryland should respond to Republican efforts in Indiana by redrawing congressional maps in its own state.

In an interview on The New Republic’s “The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent” podcast, Raskin emphasized the critical nature of fair representation. He stated: “To deprive the majority in Maryland of being able to do what majorities are doing all around the country is an essential deprivation of our ability to participate effectively in the national political process.”

Raskin noted that Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, had opposed his party’s redistricting effort in October after speaking with the Republican president of the Indiana Senate. However, Raskin said that if the Republican president of the Indiana Senate allows redistricting to proceed there, it would “redouble everybody’s determination to change Bill Ferguson’s mind” and enable Maryland to take action.

The congressman reiterated that “every seat counts.” He added: “We’re down three seats right now. I mean, we’re like in the trenches in World War I, and we’re fighting for every district. Nobody’s got the luxury of saying, ‘Well, we’re above this.’”

Raskin also rejected arguments that pressing for redistricting in Maryland would undermine democracy, arguing that Republicans have long tilted the scales against Democrats and are simply trying to rebalance the distribution.

Redistricting typically occurs once a decade after each census. But the national political parties are engaged in an unusual mid-decade battle following President Donald Trump’s urging of Republican-led states to reshape House voting districts.

Democrats need just three additional seats to gain control of the U.S. House, and Trump is attempting to counteract a historical tendency for the incumbent party to lose seats in midterm elections.

Texas was the first state to act on Trump’s call by passing congressional maps that could help Republicans win five new seats. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way last week for these districts to be used in the 2026 elections.

Republicans may also gain four additional seats under new maps passed in Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. In Indiana, senators are considering a proposal this week that could secure two more Republican gains.

Democrats scored a victory in California in November when voters approved a congressional map that could help them win five additional seats, and new districts imposed by a Utah judge might allow the party to pick up one of the state’s four seats.