October 29th, 2025: House Republicans Respond to Senate President’s Decision Not to Move Forward with Redistricting
Annapolis, MD – House Republicans today issued the following statements regarding Senate President Bill Ferguson’s decision not to move forward with redistricting.
House Minority Leader Jason Buckel: “Senate President Ferguson has realized what we have known for years: Maryland is already one of the most partisanly gerrymandered states in the U.S., and trying to redistrict even further to wholly eliminate the voices of Republicans and trying to subvert the votes of the Eastern Shore solely in an effort to play D.C. politics is a terrible idea. Legally, we believe Judge Battaglia’s opinion from four years ago would be availing and subject our current congressional map to a much more searching analysis by Maryland’s highest court. Politically, we suspect that existing Democratic members of Congress did not want to see their own gerrymandered districts ‘weakened’ to reflect their true partisan nature. Maryland is not a 7-1 Democratic state by registration, voting history, or geography, and it is surely not an ‘all-Democrat’ state. We commend President Ferguson for recognizing the folly of this type of extremism, and hope this ends the speculation and veiled threats from Governor Moore and other Annapolis Democrats.”
House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy: “We agree with Senate President Ferguson that for Democratic leaders to gerrymander out the only Republican in our Federal Delegation would be the height of hypocrisy, especially when roughly 40% of Marylanders vote Republican.”
November 5th, 2025: House Republicans Issue Statement on Governor’s Redistricting Commission
Annapolis – House Minority Leader Jason Buckel and House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy issued the following joint statement regarding Governor Wes Moore’s proposed Redistricting Commission:
“This Commission is a bogus and rigged effort to keep pushing to gerrymander Maryland—already one of the most gerrymandered states in America—to eliminate all Republican voices from representing our citizens, even from regions where they are the clear majority. Senate President Ferguson just last week made clear that redistricting will not move forward in Annapolis, but Governor Moore, always desperate to impress his friends in DC and attract national media attention for his future ambitions, seems determined to plow ahead, with no regard for the consequences or legalities.
We urged other Republicans and fair minded leaders not to participate in this charade. As it stands, the commission allegedly seeking “fair” congressional districts is made up of four elected Democrats from the Baltimore/DC area, including a sitting US Senator beholden to protecting her party, the most nakedly partisan Attorney General Maryland has perhaps ever seen, and legislative representatives of the Democratic Party who have alternatively already pledged their support for raw gerrymandering for political advantage from the House and conversely committed not to do so in the Senate.
The lone nominal Republican, after a fruitless search by the Moore Administration to persuade others to participate in this farce, must seriously consider his involvement and recognize that he will obviously be asked to either aid and abet the political crime of stealing representation from Republican citizens, or be a meaningless “nay” vote with little to no real input.
Maryland has a wide number of very serious problems confronting us. Political power grabs over congressional redistricting isn’t one of them. We wish Governor Moore would focus his energies in a more constructive and productive way for our citizens.”
November 13th, 2025: Republican Leaders Introduce the Fair Districts for Maryland Act to Counter Governor Moore’s Push for Partisan Mid-Cycle Gerrymandering
Annapolis, MD — Senate and House Republican leaders today announced the Fair Districts for Maryland Act, comprehensive legislation to permanently end mid-cycle redistricting and restore fairness, transparency, and accountability to how Maryland draws its congressional and legislative maps.
Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said Governor Wes Moore has abandoned Maryland voters in favor of national Democratic politics, all while misleading the public about the fairness of Maryland’s current district lines.
“For Governor Moore to claim Maryland’s current maps are ‘fair’ while simultaneously laying the groundwork for a new, even more partisan redraw is the height of hypocrisy,” Hershey said. “He is not leading on behalf of Maryland; he is caving to national Democratic interests and silencing dissenting voices in his own state. And the truth is, the map we have today is already ripe for a court challenge. Any map the Governor tries to force through mid-cycle could easily end up before the courts — and Democrats should not be confident they’ll get the outcome they want.”
Republicans noted that Maryland’s deeply partisan redistricting history makes this moment especially urgent.
“Maryland already is known as one of the most gerrymandered states in America. Annapolis Democrats like it that way and have consistently refused to reform our redistricting process,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “It is too political, it solely benefits the party in power, it completely ignores unaffiliated voters, and it allows one party’s politicians to pick their voters. We believe there is a better way, one that is much more balanced than what the Governor is proposing, and that is the Fair Districts for Maryland Act.”
The Fair Districts for Maryland Act establishes a 10-member Redistricting Commission that may only meet in the year following the census, eliminating the possibility of a mid-cycle redistricting. The 10-member commission will consist of: •Two members appointed by the Governor, one of whom must be an unaffiliated voter •The Speaker of the House of Delegates •The President of the Senate •The House Minority Leader •The Senate Minority Leader •Each of these four legislative leaders will also appoint a designee who will serve on the Commission. The bill also sets clear standards for drawing both congressional and legislative districts. These standards require districts to be: •Geographically contiguous •Respectful of natural boundaries, geographic integrity, and the continuity of any municipal corporation, county, or political subdivision, to the extent practicable •Geographically compact, incorporating nearby areas of population to the extent practicable •Reflective of communities of common interest
The legislation further ensures that no partisan data may be used in the redistricting process. Individuals’ voter registration, voter history, and political affiliation may not be considered, nor may the Commission consider the residence of any incumbent or potential candidate for office.
“Politicians who put party over principle and partisanship over doing what’s right for Maryland’s citizens will be tempted to choose the path of extreme gerrymandering to benefit a partisan advantage in DC,” said Buckel. However, we believe it is essential to appeal to our better selves and work to protect democracy. The Fair Districts for Maryland Act has the power to ensure that redistricting is as fair as possible. This is the right bill in the right moment, and we hope it gets the consideration it deserves.”
House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy emphasized the stakes for representation. “Maryland currently has only one Republican Congressman, even though roughly 40% of Marylanders vote Republican,” said Pippy. “The fact that the Governor would even entertain the idea of further disenfranchising these voters is wrong.”
Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready said the new legislation offers Maryland a stable and responsible path forward. ‘Redistricting in Maryland should serve the interests of all Marylanders not national party interests,” Ready said. “The Fair Districts for Maryland Act puts an end to partisan gamesmanship and restores a process built on real fairness and transparency. If Governor Moore truly wants to represent the entire state, he should stand with us and support a system that protects every Marylander’s voice — not powerful D.C. politicians.”
Zirkin, B. (2025, November 27). Opinion & Commentary. Baltimore Sun, “On redistricting, Bill Ferguson is principled — and absolutely correct”, https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/27/bobby-zirkin-redistricting/
Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. State of Maryland, Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. https://redistricting.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx