Free Republic

Score another victory for President Donald Trump in the high-stakes political battle between Republicans and Democrats over congressional redistricting. GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe of Missouri on Sunday signed into law a new congressional map, Missouri First, that is likely to hand Republicans an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of next year’s midterms elections. Missouri, once considered a swing state that has dramatically shifted to the right over the past decade and a half, is the latest battleground in the congressional redistricting showdown after the passage of new maps in GOP-dominated Texas and a redistricting push by...

One of the biggest progressive stars in American politics is throwing her support behind Proposition 50, which would redistrict California for congressional elections. Gov. Gavin Newsom released an ad Tuesday morning showing New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez forcefully backing the controversial proposal. “California, you know we don’t back down from a fight,” Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, says in the ad. “And this November, the fight belongs to you.” Newsom and California’s Democrats say the unprecedented measure is required to counter President Donald Trump’s nationwide plan to redraw districts in Republican-controlled states like Texas, Missouri and Ohio. “Donald Trump is...

Missouri House has just voted to redistrict from 6-2 GOP TO 7-1 GOP. Meanwhile Ohio, Florida, Indiana are getting ready to redistrict ending up r giving Republicans a near guaranteed majority in the House in 2026 even after a Newsom redistrict in California. And that's even before Louisiana and Kansas who are also considering redistricting. Louisiana would depend on SCOTUS revoking the VRA Act. Plus Democrats have already redistricted over years with 7 deep blue states having 0 Republican seats in the House in DC. Hakeem’s dreams of being Speaker are fast going down the drain

The redistricting wars are in full swing. Somewhat implausibly, Democrats claim they will match Republicans’ redistricting moves, as in Texas, with moves of their own that will cancel them out. But Democrats just have fewer places than the GOP to pull off these maneuvers and, even where they are in control of state government, are more likely to face institutional obstacles like nonpartisan commissions specifically designed to prevent gerrymandering. Therefore, the net results of these moves and counter-moves is likely to favor the GOP.How badly could all this hurt the Democrats in 2026? In all likelihood, not very. As Nate...

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe said Friday that he is calling Missouri lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts as part of a growing national battle between Republicans and Democrats seeking an edge in next year’s congressional elections. Kehoe made the announcement just hours after Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain five more seats in the 2026 midterm elections. It marked a win for President Donald Trump, who has been urging Republican-led states to reshape district lines to give the party a better shot...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold on to a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House.The Texas map drafted in rare mid-decade redistricting prompted fierce protests from Democrats and sparked a gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters in states across the country. “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Abbott said in a video he posted on X of him signing the legislation.Before...

Catholic grade school attacked. At least 20 injured.

A judge on Monday ordered the Republican-dominated Utah legislature to redraw its congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms, after the body appeared to ignore safeguards voters put in place to ensure districts aren’t gerrymandered. The Congressional map, which was drawn in 2021, divided the Democratic Salt Lake County into the state's four districts, which diluted Democratic influence. The districts have since been won by Republican candidates, per the Associated Press. U.S. District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the maps need to be redone because state lawmakers ignored an independent commission that was established by voters to limit partisan...

Andy Hopper @AndyHopperTX The Texas House Republican caucus just voted against holding the Dems who fled accountable in any real way. This motion did NOT pass by the required majority.

"What if I told you that the Supreme Court just dropped a bombshell that is about to obliterate the Democrat party's chances of ever coming back to national power again?"

After the Old Line State lost a congressional seat in the 2010 census, Annapolis was tasked with drawing new lines for the now-eight remaining, and then-Gov. Martin O’Malley ultimately testified about his eagerness to box-out the GOP. While overwhelmingly Democratic, Maryland features conservative strongholds at its geographic extremes — the Western Panhandle and Eastern Shore — and a smattering of Republican-majority communities throughout the more densely-populated center of the state. One of the newly-drawn seats — the 3rd District represented by then-Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., — resembled what Fourth Circuit federal Judge Paul Niemeyer called a "broken-winged pterodactyl, lying prostrate...

Republicans are plowing forward with plans for redistricting in several other states now that Texas is poised to approve its newly redrawn maps. The Lone Star State kicked off the redistricting arms race when Republicans in the state Legislature agreed to move forward with rewriting their congressional lines at the insistence of President Trump.Now, as Democrats in California look to counter Texas with their own redistricting plan, the GOP is setting its sights on states from Florida to Indiana to Missouri, signaling a new phase of the fight.“There’s not much more Democrats can do at this point, which is kind...

The Texas redistricting battle is entering a new front as the fight turns to the courts, where Democrats and civil rights groups are expected to challenge the newly passed maps. Texas House Democrats who had fled the state to stall the maps said that they were returning “to the House floor and to the courthouse” this week — and several groups signaled they are ready to sue as soon as Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signs the legislation. But experts forecast Democrats will face an uphill climb to stop or even stall the maps, which could net five GOP House seats,...

SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — California voters will decide in November whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats next year, after Texas Republicans advanced their own redrawn map to pad their House majority by the same number of seats at President Donald Trump’s urging. California lawmakers voted mostly along party lines Thursday to approve legislation calling for the special election. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has led the campaign in favor of the map, then quickly signed it — the latest step in a tit-for-tat gerrymandering battle. “This is not something...

The national redistricting battle enters its next phase Thursday as California Democrats are scheduled to pass a new congressional map that creates five winnable seats for their party, a direct counter to the Texas House’s approval of a new map to create more conservative-leaning seats in that state. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has engineered the high-risk strategy in response to President Donald Trump’s own brinkmanship. Trump pushed Texas Republicans to reopen the legislative maps they passed in 2021 to squeeze out up to five new GOP seats to help the party stave off a midterm defeat.Unlike in Texas, where passage...

The state’s new congressional lines have yet to be approved, but would-be candidates are jockeying behind the scenes. Supervisor Hilda Solis hasn’t publicly announced her candidacy, but she’s already lining up support for a potential new southeast L.A. County congressional seat. As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to redraw California’s congressional maps plays out at the state Capitol and on the national stage, a quieter but no less bloody scramble is simultaneously underway. Newsom’s plan — a bid to counter President Trump’s drive for more GOP House seats with his own California show of force — still needs to be approved...

President Trump won Missouri in the 2024 presidential election over Kamala Harris 59% to 40%. Missouri Republicans have begun the process of redistricting congressional maps, following the lead of Texas Republicans after they passed a bill giving the state five more Republican House seats. “The Great State of Missouri is now IN,” President Trump announced on X on Thursday morning, noting that he’s “not surprised.” Trump also noted that “It is a great State with fabulous people. I won it, all 3 times, in a landslide.” “We’re going to win the Midterms in Missouri again, bigger and better than ever...

Democrats are tortured by what they should stand for now and heading into the 2028 elections. But a number of current trends suggest a likely answer: their own version of a populist, anti-establishment, MAGA-like makeover.Why it matters: The debate is usually framed as liberal vs. centrist, Rahm versus AOC. But big, fast changes in AI, media habits and general public angst point to a more sweeping shift in ideas and attitude.Four megatrends that are already shaping Democrats' efforts to remake their image and rewrite their agenda:Media: MSM is fading in its mesmerizing hold over liberals. At the same time, the...

OAKLAND, Calif. - Thursday is expected to be a contentious day in Sacramento, where state lawmakers are scheduled to debate – and vote on – a controversial plan to redraw California's congressional map, with the goal of adding seats for Democrats in Congress. It comes on the heels of a major vote in Texas on Wednesday to revamp that state's districts to help the Republican Party. Democratic Congresswoman speaks out on redistricting at Albany town hall Democratic U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon did not mince words at an Albany town hall Wednesday night, voicing support for a plan to redraw California's...

Former President Barack Obama has waded into states’ efforts at rare mid-decade redistricting efforts, saying he agrees with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to alter his state’s congressional maps, in the way of Texas redistricting efforts promoted by President Donald Trump aimed at shoring up Republicans’ position in next year’s elections. “I believe that Gov. Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach. He said this is going to be responsible. We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama said at a Tuesday fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, according to excerpts obtained by The Associated Press. “We’re only going...