“A judge in Florida declined to temporarily block the state’s aggressive new congressional map on Tuesday, allowing it to remain as a lawsuit challenging it moves forward,” the New York Times reports.

“The map could give Republicans four additional seats as they try to maintain control of Congress in the November midterm elections.”

Axios: Florida congressional map survives first court test.

The Guardian: “Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have defied Donald Trump and rejected a breakneck bid to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of November’s US midterm elections.”

“In a 26-18 vote, state senators rejected mid-decade redistricting in a special session of the legislature, ending hope in Washington to split up congressman Jim Clyburn’s district and add to the list of gerrymandered gains for Republicans.”

New York Times: “A panel of federal judges on Tuesday rejected Alabama’s effort to use a new voting map for the November midterm elections, saying that the districts discriminated against Black people and could not be used so shortly before a vote.”

“The state is likely to appeal the decision. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, has already set special primaries in August in four House districts that would be affected by a new congressional map.”

“The ruling further confuses the electoral landscape across the South, as Republican-led legislatures have raced to implement new district lines after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It also demonstrates how the ruling from the nation’s highest court has further muddled how lower courts interpret the landmark civil rights law.”

“The nationwide redistricting battle that erupted last year has evolved into a forever war,” the Washington Post reports.

“Politicians, no longer content to leave elections to chance, are working with increased precision to choose their voters, with plans to recalibrate as often as every two years…”

“Extreme gerrymanders could soon be even more extreme. California Democrats could eliminate every Republican in the state’s House delegation, giving them a 52-0 map. Republicans could get rid of nearly every Democrat in Texas.”

“Democrats are poised to finish several seats behind Republicans in 2026 in the nationwide race to redraw maps for the U.S. House. They can catch up in 2028, but only if they overcome a series of redistricting hurdles that the GOP does not face,” the AP reports.

“That’s because Democrats, in many states, can draw partisan political lines only if they evade constraints — some self-imposed — on their ability to counterpunch.”

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.”