Trump kicked off a redistricting fray by urging Republican-led states to redraw districts.
FILE – The William McKinley Monument is silhouetted in front of the west side of the Ohio Statehouse, April 15, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A Republican-dominated Ohio panel adopted new U.S. House districts on Friday that could boost the GOP’s chances of winning two additional seats in next year’s elections and aidTrump says Senate should scrap the filibuster to end the shutdown, an idea opposed by RepublicansColoradans scramble for help as SNAP suspension looms and food banks ‘just don’t have enough’Trump says Senate should scrap the filibuster to end the government shutdownthat could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of congressional midterm elections next year.
The Senate on Friday passed a resolution that would allow lawmakers to temporarily bypass a bipartisan redistricting commission and gerrymander their maps. The House had advanced it Wednesday. Trump has been urging Republican-led states to reshape their U.S. House districts in an attempt to win more seats. But unlike in other states, Ohio’sThe political parties are in an intense battle, because Democrats need to gain just three seats in next year’s election to win control of the House and gain the power to impede Trump’s agenda. In Ohio, Republicans already hold 10 of 15 congressional seats. The new map could boost Republican chances in already competitive districts currently held by Democratic Reps. Greg Landsman in Cincinnati and Marcy Kaptur near Toledo. Kaptur won a 22nd term last year by about 2,400 votes, or less than 1 percentage point, in a district carried by Trump. Landsman was reelected with more than 54% of the vote.Ohio’s commission had faced a Friday deadline to adopt a new map, or else the task would have fallen to the GOP-led Legislature, which could have crafted districts even more favorable to Republicans. But any redistricting bill passed by the Legislature could have been subject to an initiative petition campaign from opponents seeking to force a public referendum on the new map. The uncertainty of that legislative process provided commissioners of both parties with some incentive for compromise. All seven commissioners — five Republicans and two Democrats — voted for the new map. But Ohio residents who testified to commissioners Friday denounced the new districts. Julia Cattaneo, who wore a shirt saying “gerrymandering is cheating,” said the new map is gerrymandered more for Republicans than the one it is replacing and is not the sort of compromise needed.Added resident Scott Sibley: “This map is an affront to democracy, and you should all — every one of you — be ashamed.” Republican state Auditor Keith Farber, a member of the commission, defended the map during a testy exchange with one opponent. Because many Democrats live in cities and many Republicans in rural areas, he said there was no way to draw a map creating eight Republican and seven Democratic districts — as some had urged — without splitting cities, counties and townships.Virginia is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans. Democratic lawmakers haven’t unveiled their planned new map, nor how many seats they are trying to gain, but said their moves are necessary to respond to the Trump-inspired gerrymandering in Republican-led states. “Our voters are asking to have that voice. They’re asking that we protect democracy, that we not allow gerrymandering to happen throughout the country, and we sit back,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola said.would let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to their advantage. The measure would still need to pass the General Assembly again next year, then go before voters in a statewide referendum. The developments come as Virginia holds statewide elections Tuesday, where all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are on the ballot. Democrats would need to keep their slim majority in the lower chamber to advance the constitutional amendment next year. Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain said Democrats were ignoring the will of voters who had overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan redistricting commission. “Heaven forbid that we actually link arms and work together on something,” Obenshain said. “What the voters of Virginia said is, ‘We expect redistricting to be an issue that we work across the aisle on, that we link arms on.’” But Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has long championed the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, noted the panel still would be in charge of redistricting after the 2030 census. “We’re not trying to end the practice of fair maps,” he said. “We are asking the voters if, in this one limited case, they want to ensure that a constitutional-norm-busting president can’t break the entire national election by twisting the arms of a few state legislatures.” Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri; Scolforo from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Diaz from Richmond, Virginia. Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.Is Telluride ready to 'chuck Chuck?' Why the opulent ski town turned on the resort's longtime ownerCasa Bonita actors, cliff divers launch strike during Halloween Renck: Thank you, DeMeco Ryans for going to Houston. Broncos would not be contender again without Sean PaytonColorado's proposed settlement with company that failed to clean up defunct uranium mill draws criticismICE's arrest of father, children in Durango sparks CBI investigation, local backlash
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