A reported battle brewing between Maryland Democrats and the party in the rest of the country spilled out into the open on Wednesday, following the Democratic Party's resounding victory in state and local elections across the nation the previous night.
The controversy unfurled on X, where Virginia state Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat known for her confrontational style, lashed out at Maryland's Democratic Senate President, Bill Ferguson over the topic of redistricting.
"Tonight’s resounding Democratic victory shows we don't need to rig the system to win," Ferguson posted. "When we provide a better vision about the future — lower costs, better services, and real solutions to protect against Trump — voters overwhelmingly choose our leadership."
Lucas, however, was having none of it.
"Get our victory in Virginia out of your mouth while you echo MAGA talking points," wrote Lucas in a reply. "Grow a pair and stand up to this President. This is just embarassing."
As Republicans in states like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have heeded President Donald Trump's demand to redraw their congressional maps to rig extra House seats for themselves, Democrats in some states have fought back. California voters passed Gavin Newsom's Proposition 50 Tuesday to temporarily suspend the state's independent commission and draw a 5-seat gerrymander to offset Texas, and Virginia Democrats are now discussing a constitutional amendment that would do the same.
In Maryland, however, Democrats in the legislature have resisted calls to draw out their one remaining Republican seat, despite House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) personally leaning on them, and despite Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pushing for a special legislative session on the matter.
Ferguson has argued that a mid-decade redistricting in Maryland is "too risky," because the state is already heavily gerrymandered in Democrats' favor and a state court struck down their previous attempt at a more favorable map. His worry is that another redraw could set up a case that strikes down not just any redrawn map, but their current map, costing them seats.
He has additionally argued that redrawing Maryland's map could dilute the power of Black voters, although according to political analyst David Nir of The Downballot, "The exact opposite is true: Maryland Democrats could easily increase the number of majority-Black districts from two to three."
