Ohio lawmakers have reached an unexpected deal on a new congressional map that would give Republicans a slight edge in the 2026 midterms, but not enough to secure a majority. The bipartisan redistricting commission approved the proposal at a meeting on Friday morning after weeks of negotiations.
The new map shifts two Democratic-held districts slightly to the right and one to the left while maintaining 10 districts that favor Republicans and two strongholds for Democrats. Punchbowl News was first to report the details of the deal, which came as a surprise to many observers given the stalemate in previous redistricting cycles.
Democrat Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called the map "not fair" for Ohio voters but praised her party's negotiators for preventing an even more egregious gerrymander. The deal keeps Democrats on track to win back the House Majority and maintain their competitiveness across Ohio.
Under the new lines, Reps Greg Landsman and Marcy Kaptur would face more competitive districts, while Rep Emilia Sykes' district would become slightly more Democratic. Both Kaptur and Sykes said they would run for re-election under the new map, with Kaptur vowing to "fight on for the people."
The emergence of Ohio's new map proposal comes amid a mid-decade redistricting cycle driven by President Donald Trump's efforts to shore up the Republican Party's narrow U.S. House majority. Other states are also drawing maps that boost Republicans, including Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina.
However, not all states are avoiding contentious redistricting. Virginia Democrats have taken steps towards modifying their commission to allow them to redraw their map next year, while Indiana GOP lawmakers are expected to soon consider a redistricting effort. Louisiana is waiting for a Supreme Court ruling that could open the door to redrawing its congressional maps.
The deal will not be subject to a voter referendum, which would have required Democrats to gather nearly 250,000 signatures in just 90 days – a difficult feat during the holidays and Ohio's winter months. Lawmakers who attended the meeting on Friday received criticism from the public for selling out, with one attendee saying "shame, shame on you all" for not fighting harder for their constituents.
The new map shifts two Democratic-held districts slightly to the right and one to the left while maintaining 10 districts that favor Republicans and two strongholds for Democrats. Punchbowl News was first to report the details of the deal, which came as a surprise to many observers given the stalemate in previous redistricting cycles.
Democrat Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called the map "not fair" for Ohio voters but praised her party's negotiators for preventing an even more egregious gerrymander. The deal keeps Democrats on track to win back the House Majority and maintain their competitiveness across Ohio.
Under the new lines, Reps Greg Landsman and Marcy Kaptur would face more competitive districts, while Rep Emilia Sykes' district would become slightly more Democratic. Both Kaptur and Sykes said they would run for re-election under the new map, with Kaptur vowing to "fight on for the people."
The emergence of Ohio's new map proposal comes amid a mid-decade redistricting cycle driven by President Donald Trump's efforts to shore up the Republican Party's narrow U.S. House majority. Other states are also drawing maps that boost Republicans, including Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina.
However, not all states are avoiding contentious redistricting. Virginia Democrats have taken steps towards modifying their commission to allow them to redraw their map next year, while Indiana GOP lawmakers are expected to soon consider a redistricting effort. Louisiana is waiting for a Supreme Court ruling that could open the door to redrawing its congressional maps.
The deal will not be subject to a voter referendum, which would have required Democrats to gather nearly 250,000 signatures in just 90 days – a difficult feat during the holidays and Ohio's winter months. Lawmakers who attended the meeting on Friday received criticism from the public for selling out, with one attendee saying "shame, shame on you all" for not fighting harder for their constituents.
So I was thinking, why is gerrymandering still a thing? Like, can't we just draw fair maps and let voters decide? 
The fact that lawmakers would rather secure a slight edge in the midterms over being transparent with voters is crazy to me. 
Anyway, I'm just glad that Democrats were able to prevent an even worse gerrymander, but at what cost? 
The fact that lawmakers are being booed by the public for not fighting hard enough for their constituents is pretty damning.
. I mean, it's like they're trying to be fair but still give Republicans a bit of an edge... and then some lawmakers are getting bashed by the public for 'selling out' 
. It's just a lot to take in. Suzan DelBene seems pretty reasonable about it, though - I guess her party is trying to keep it from being too bad 
. What really gets me, though, is that some lawmakers are already making plans to redraw their own maps next year... that's some next-level politicking 
. Democrats are saying it's "not fair" for Ohio voters, and I can see why - it might be tough for them to compete in those districts 
. But at least they're able to prevent an even worse gerrymander 
. It's all about finding that middle ground, right? 
do u think its unfair that republicans get a slight edge? 
is it like when u try to vote for who u want and they all just mess it up? 
️. Democrats are saying it's 'not fair' for Ohio voters, and yeah, that's kinda true. The public was expecting more from their reps. 
It's like they're just going through the motions to maintain the status quo rather than actually fighting for change.
. But man, this whole redistricting thing just feels so... messy 
. Can't we just get some clean maps for once? 
. I mean, Reps Kaptur and Sykes are gonna run for re-election under these lines, so you can bet they're gonna put up a good fight 
. And who knows, maybe this sets a precedent for other states to follow suit? 
.
that's some crazy politics right there. And can we talk about how Greg Landsman and Marcy Kaptur are already running for re-election with these new lines? 
. But at the same time, I'm a bit bummed out that Republicans are still gonna get a slight edge in the 2026 midterms - it feels like they're trying to hold onto power 
.
. And what really gets me is that Democrats had to settle for something that's basically "good enough" instead of fighting harder for their constituents 
. Anyway, I guess this is just the way it goes sometimes 
. And don't even get me started on how this affects Reps Kaptur and Sykes – they're basically saying "oh well, I guess we'll just run anyway" 
so like i'm super excited cuz ohio is finally gonna get a new congressional map and its not like super unfair to dems lol! 
marcy kaptur is literally fighting for the people and i love it 
but like we all know they're not gonna win 
anyway, its always crazy when lawmakers get slammed by the public cuz they cant handle a little bit of criticism 
gotta give em credit tho, dems did manage to prevent an even worse gerrymander so that's def some major props