A back-and-forth volley of congressional redistricting in states has changed the electoral battlefield ahead of the November midterm elections, as Republicans and Democrats each seek an edge in their push for control of the closely divided U.S. House.
Florida’s Republican-led Legislature is latest to act, that could help the GOP win several additional seats in this year’s elections. That could offset Democratic gains in Virginia, where a new U.S. House map designed to flip several seats to Democrats.
Next up could be Louisiana, where Republican state lawmakers plan to revise congressional districts in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump last year to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.
Republicans believe they could win up to 13 additional seats from new congressional districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain up to 10 seats from new districts in California, Utah and Virginia. But that presumes hold in November. And that鈥檚 uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.
Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, potentially allowing them to obstruct Trump鈥檚 agenda.
Next up: Louisiana
Current map: two Democrats, four Republicans
New map: Republican state lawmakers will be working in May to revise U.S. House districts in response to an April 29 striking down a majority Black congressional district.
Challenges: Time is short. Republican the May 16 congressional primary to allow for new districts to be drawn.
Where new House districts were approved
New U.S. House districts have passed in eight states since last summer. Six took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.
Texas
Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December to be used in this year鈥檚 elections. It has since overturned a lower-court ruling that because it was 鈥渞acially gerrymandered.鈥�
California
Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans
New map: Voters in November drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February in this year鈥檚 elections. It denied from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.
Missouri
Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It’s scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.
North Carolina
Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: The Republican-led General Assembly in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.
Ohio
Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to that improve Republicans鈥� chances of winning two additional seats.
Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.
Utah
Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans
New map: A judge in November that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.
Challenges: A and the , in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.
Virginia
Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans
New map: Voters on April 21 authorizing new U.S. House districts backed by Democrats that could help the party win up to four additional seats.
Challenges: allowed the referendum to proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge鈥檚 ruling that because lawmakers violated procedural requirements.
Florida
Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans
New map: The Republican-led Legislature on April 29 that could improve the GOP’s chances of winning four additional seats.
Challenges: The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.
Where redistricting efforts were denied
Governors, lawmakers or partisan officials pushed for congressional redistricting in numerous states. In at least five states, those efforts gained some initial traction but ultimately fell short in either the legislature or court.
Maryland
Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican
Proposed map: The Democratic-led House in February backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.
Challenges: The legislative session ended in April without the Democratic-led Senate voting on the redistricting plan. The state Senate president said there were concerns it could backfire on Democrats.
New York
Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans
Proposed map: A judge in January for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in March granted Republicans’ request to , leaving the existing district lines in place for the 2026 election.
Indiana
Current map: two Democrats, seven Republicans
Proposed map: The Republican-led House passed a in December that would have improved Republicans鈥� chances of winning two additional seats.
Challenges: Despite pressure from Trump to adopt the new map, the Republican-led Senate on Dec. 11.
Kansas
Current map: one Democrat, three Republicans
Proposed map: Some Republican lawmakers mounted an attempt to take up congressional redistricting.
Challenges: Lawmakers for a special session on congressional redistricting in November, after failing to gain enough support.
Illinois
Current map: 14 Democrats, three Republicans
Proposed map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October proposed a new U.S. House map that would improve Democrats鈥� chances of winning an additional seat.
Challenges: The Democratic-led General Assembly declined to take up redistricting, citing concerns about the effect on representation for Black residents.
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