Ohio Approves New Congressional Map

Ohio approved a new congressional map on Friday that could hand Republicans two additional seats in the 2026 midterms.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted unanimously to adopt a map that favors the GOP in 12 of the state’s 15 congressional districts. The Buckeye State now joins a growing list of Republican-led states redrawing their maps to strengthen the party’s advantage in the House of Representatives in an effort encouraged by President Donald Trump.

Unlike other states that have held special sessions for redistricting, Ohio was legally required to adopt a new map. The state’s constitution mandates a redraw because the 2021 map lacked bipartisan backing, making it valid for only four years instead of the usual ten.

The new lines put several Democratic incumbents in jeopardy. Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s district, for example, which Trump won by seven points in 2024, will shift even further to the right. Rep. Greg Landsman’s Cincinnati-based seat would also lean more Republican, while Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron could gain a slight advantage from newly added Democratic areas.

Republicans could have pushed through a more aggressive map via the state Legislature, where they hold a supermajority. However, passing a bipartisan plan through the seven-member redistricting commission offers an advantage by insulating the GOP from legal challenges ahead of the 2026 race.

“I would just say this darn well could be a 12-3 map. Those are pretty darn good numbers, and I think it lessens a chance there’ll be a referendum that our side might lose,” Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who sits on the redistricting commission, said, according to the Signal Ohio.

Ohio’s move comes amid a broader nationwide battle over redistricting, as both parties try to lock in favorable maps ahead of the next election cycle. Trump has urged Republican-controlled states to act, and Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have already approved new maps expected to net the GOP up to seven additional seats.

In California, voters will decide in November whether to transfer mapmaking authority from the state’s independent commission to the Legislature. If approved, the move could add up to five Democratic seats, shrinking the state’s already small Republican delegation to just four of 52. Virginia Democrats are also seeking to redraw maps to gain up to three additional seats.

Not all Democrat-led states are on board, however.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has faced strong resistance from Illinois state Democrats over his push to redraw their already heavily gerrymandered congressional map.

In Maryland, Democratic Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson this week rejected his colleague’s calls for a special session to revisit the state’s maps, calling the idea “catastrophic.”