Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson takes questions from reporters on the last day of Maryland’s legislative session Monday, April 7, 2025, in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

Maryland appears unlikely to help Democrats counter the GOP’s nationwide gerrymander, after top lawmakers said Tuesday that the Senate would not be moving forward with a plan to eliminate the state’s one Republican congressional seat.

The announcement, which came in a letter from Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) to Senate Democrats, was first reported by Politico.

Three GOP-controlled states have bowed to President Donald Trump’s request to redraw their congressional maps this year so far, while other Republican states have taken steps toward their own gerrymanders. California voters could approve a new map next week to counter some of those GOP gains, and Virginia Democrats are working to begin a similar process. 

Some Maryland Democrats previously signaled their willingness to consider redrawing the map, including Gov. Wes Moore and House Majority Leader David Moon. It seems, however, that Maryland will be staying out of the fight.

Ferguson acknowledged the dangers of Trump’s gerrymandering plan in his letter, writing that the president is working to “rig the election results against Democrats.” 

But Ferguson concluded that it would be risky and difficult to draw a map that gains Democrats an additional seat.

“In short, the risk of redrawing the congressional map in Maryland is too high, making the unlikely possibility that we gain a seat not worth pursuing,” Ferguson said. 

A Maryland Supreme Court judge struck down Maryland’s congressional map in 2021, calling it a product of “extreme partisan gerrymandering,” Ferguson wrote. The state redrew the map, reaching its current configuration. 

Maryland has “certainty under the current map; that evaporates the moment we start down the path of redistricting mid-cycle with an unclear legal landscape and an even more unclear legal timeline,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson also argued that if Maryland and other Democratic-controlled states were to enter the fray, some Republican states that have been resisting pressure to redistrict would be more likely to begin redrawing, as well. 

“That means that Maryland’s potential gain of one seat is immediately eliminated, and, in fact, worsens the national outlook,” Ferguson said.