New York Times: “After months of disagreement, Maryland Democrats appear to be closer than ever to eliminating the state’s lone Republican-held congressional district in time for the 2028 cycle.”

“Bill Ferguson, the leader of the Maryland Senate and the face of Democratic opposition to redrawing maps this year, said in an interview with a local news outlet on Friday that the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act, which led to a scramble among Republican-led legislatures across the South to dismantle or dilute majority-Black, Democratic-controlled districts, forced him to change his calculus.”

The Downballot: “Following the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, Republican-run states are rushing headlong to dismantle congressional districts that had been drawn to protect the rights of Black and Latino voters.”

“But Democrats could fight back by targeting at least 21 GOP districts in nine different states in time for the 2028 elections—and they can do so without disrespecting the VRA.”

Speaker Mike Johnson told top donors in D.C. that he believes Republicans will net seven to eight seats from mid-decade redistricting, Punchbowl News reports.

“An effort to reshape South Carolina’s congressional districts will get its first full airing Monday in the state House, as lawmakers launch a lengthy and potentially testy discussion on whether to accede to President Donald Trump’s desires for a U.S. House map that could yield a clean sweep for Republicans,” the AP reports.

Axios: “A wave of voting rights battles and GOP redistricting fights is triggering a coordinated response across the South, with organizers preparing a ‘Summer of Action’ campaign with marches that start this weekend.”

“Organizers say the fight over congressional maps, voting access and political representation is accelerating in real time as states redraw political power ahead of November’s midterms and the 2028 general election.”

Politico: “Republican and Democratic voters are all in on an ends-justify-means approach to map redraws, according to the latest Politico Poll conducted by Public First. With South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster expected to announce a special session today for legislators to push forward a 7-0 gerrymander to draw Democrats out, the fresh polling shows voters favor a maximalist approach.”

“According to the poll, both parties say gerrymandering is influential or decisive — and back it to counter the other. For Democratic voters, 63 percent either support or strongly support an effort to neutralize Republican gains. Only 8 percent oppose or strongly oppose.”

“For Republican voters, 54 percent either support or strongly support an effort to match or neutralize Democratic gains. Roughly 10 percent oppose or strongly oppose such a move.”

G. Elliot Morris: “Republicans across half a dozen states spent the last year passing new congressional gerrymanders to give themselves an unfair advantage over Democrats in this November’s midterm elections. After the Supreme Court blew up Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais two weeks ago, GOP legislatures in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and elsewhere have moved to cut even more Democratic seats from the map. Democrats could end up needing to win the popular vote in the House by 4 points or more in order to win the majority of seats.”

“This is a huge boon to a party that, just three weeks ago, was staring down the barrel of a virtually assured loss of the House and likely loss of the Senate, too.”

“And yet, it doesn’t change the big picture of how Americans feel about the president today.”

“Almost a third of the membership of the Congressional Black Caucus — 19 of its 62 members — are at risk of losing their seats through the 2028 election cycle as Republicans in southern states where they control the legislature move swiftly to redraw congressional maps less than two weeks after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” ABC News reports.

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), who has close ties to Hakeem Jeffries, “endorsed carving up majority-minority districts to ensure Democratic redistricting gains ahead of the 2028 elections,” Politico reports.

Said Meeks: “I’m supportive of winning and being in the majority. I think we can do that. I’m supportive of preserving our Democrats in the South, which is important, and I think that we can win and do what we need to do in other districts.”

He added: “Trump changed the rules. I don’t like those rules, but we’re going to do what we have to do to win.”

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Although several states are still in flux, we may be nearing the end of 2026’s redistricting saga.”

“As tempting as it may be to do so, it won’t be possible to do a precise accounting of redistricting’s effects until after the November election.”

“Assuming Republicans successfully add an extra seat apiece in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and that all of the current redraws remain in place, our best guess is a Republican gain in the high single digits from redistricting, with the potential for that to grow or shrink based on the actual results in several key races.”

Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson (D), who blocked a push last year to redraw the state’s congressional map and eliminate the sole Republican seat, is “talking to allies about a path forward on possible redistricting,” NOTUS reports.

“Mississippi will not redraw any of its electoral districts this month,” the Mississippi Free Press reports.

“Gov. Tate Reeves canceled a special legislative session to redistrict the state’s Supreme Court map after a federal appeals court determined that the state no longer needs to create a majority-Black district…”

“But the governor is urging the Mississippi Legislature to redraw its legislative, state supreme court and congressional lines before the 2027 elections, when state legislative seats will be on the ballot.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is calling a special legislative session to redraw his state’s congressional lines ahead of the 2028 cycle, further advancing GOP gains after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, Politico reports.

South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to reverse course and announce a special session on redistricting, teeing up the state legislature to pass a Republican gerrymander that would almost certainly cost Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn his seat in this year’s midterms, Politico reports.

“House Democrats say they tried playing nice. Now the gloves are off,” Politico reports.

“After spending more than a decade pushing for anti-gerrymandering measures and other good-government initiatives, Democratic lawmakers said this week they are gearing up to play political hardball in the wake of stunning court losses on redistricting — potentially for years to come.”

“Florida is pushing back against assertions that the state’s new congressional map was drawn to help Republicans, arguing in a new legal filing that other states such as Virginia and Illinois have engaged in much more blatant partisan gerrymandering,” Politico reports.