December will bring an onslaught of redistricting developments across several states. We’ve broken down the top places to watch over the next few weeks:
Florida. The Sunshine State legislature’s redistricting committee will meet this Thursday as it plots to join the national redistricting wars.
Florida has become increasingly more important as Republicans have struggled to secure new maps in other red states. The GOP-controlled Florida legislature is committed to redistricting but there are two main roadblocks.
Democrats plan to mount aggressive resistance to any new map. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries huddled with Democrats in the Florida congressional delegation the week before Thanksgiving, per sources familiar with the meeting.
Florida Republicans will also need to navigate the state’s anti-gerrymandering laws in any redraw. Yet a conservative Florida Supreme Court could work in their favor. And a recent ruling has given Republicans a possible blueprint to redistrict.
Texas. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito temporarily reinstated Republicans’ gerrymander in the Lone Star State late last month, reversing a lower court ruling that threw it out.
Up next: SCOTUS will make a final decision on what map Texas will use for the midterms. That ruling could come at any time as the Dec. 8 filing deadline nears. If the GOP-drawn 2025 map remains, Republicans will have greatly boosted their odds in five seats.
Indiana. The Indiana state Senate will reconvene next Monday, Dec. 8, to make a “final decision” on redistricting. GOP operatives hope the Indiana Senate Republicans will be persuaded to enact a map if it has already passed the state House.
But another Indiana GOP lawmaker came out against redistricting. State Sen. Mike Bohacek said Friday he won’t support the effort because President Donald Trump called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a slur to describe someone with intellectual disabilities. Bohacek has a daughter with Down syndrome.
Wisconsin. Democrats’ hopes of securing a new map in the Badger State revived last week when the state supreme court agreed to allow three-judge panels to hear two redistricting cases.
It’s not clear whether a ruling could come in time for the midterms. But a favorable and quick result could boost Democrats’ chances against GOP Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil.
