“The GOP-dominated Wisconsin Legislature voted Tuesday to adopt state legislative maps that would loosen the party’s grip on power in the state, backing down in a long-running redistricting fight,” the Politico reports.

“Should Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sign the new maps into law, it would be a dramatic reorientation of the political order in the battleground state. Wisconsin’s current lines are gerrymandered in a way that makes it virtually impossible for Republicans to lose control of the Legislature in a place where statewide contests usually are decided by no more than a couple points. But the new maps would give both parties a chance to be competitive.”

Cook Political Report: “Life comes at you fast. Less than a year ago, Republican Rep. Garret Graves (LA-06) had become such a top confidant of newly-elected Speaker Kevin McCarthy that McCarthy elevated him to a specially created House GOP leadership slot.”

“Now, Graves’ own party back home has dismantled his seat in court-ordered redistricting, leaving the five-term pragmatist from Baton Rouge with dismal reelection prospects in 2024.”

The newly-draw district is rated Solid Democrat.

“Just a few months ago, Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) was the right-hand man to the speaker of the House. Now he’s on the cusp of a forced early retirement,” Politico reports.

“Yesterday, under threat of federal court intervention, the GOP-controlled Louisiana state legislature approved a new congressional map drawing two Black-majority districts — and effectively squeezing Graves out of his seat after five terms while leaving the district of a more junior colleague, Rep. Julia Letlow, intact.”

“There are just layers of intrigue here, starting with the hostile relationship between Graves and his delegation-mate, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.”

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Rep. Garret Graves was on top. Now he’s fighting for his political life. What happened?

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) “is urging the Louisiana Legislature and GOP Gov. Jeff Landry to ignore a court order to draw a second majority Black congressional district because he wants to protect Republicans’ razor thin majority in the House,” the Shreveport Times reports.

“Johnson said the Legislature should not voluntarily create a second majority Black district that would likely result in a Democrat being elected.”

“A high-powered Democratic law firm is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2024 election, arguing a redistricting decision last month calls into question the battleground state’s current district lines,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he was “very concerned” with new congressional districts proposed by the Louisiana legislature that would create another majority-Black seat in his home state, Punchbowl News reports.

The proposed map would essentially eliminate Rep. Garret Graves’ (R-LA) seat and force Graves into a potential member-on-member primary against Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA).

“The partisan tilt of a handful of districts could still change dramatically before voters even go to the polls this year — shifting who has the upper hand in the battle for control the House,” Politico reports.

“Republicans hold just a three-seat majority and various congressional maps across the country have already been redrawn since the midterms thanks to drawn-out court battles, some of which have yet to be resolved.”

“So far, post-2022 redistricting has likely netted Republicans two or three seats. But depending on how the final maps are configured, that number could change yet again — and even perhaps tilt the field, ever so slightly, toward favoring Democrats.”

“Attorneys for Republican lawmakers are asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider its 4-3 decision that found the state’s current legislative maps unconstitutional and ordered them to draw new ones, arguing their timeline to do so is rushed,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“The court ordered parties on Dec. 22 to submit map proposals by Jan. 12, and consultants are set to review them by Feb. 1. The Wisconsin Elections Commission has said maps must be in place by March 15 for the fall legislative races. Candidates must circulate nomination papers for an Aug. 13 partisan primary ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.”

“But Republicans argue instituting new maps as the 2024 elections draw closer would ‘needlessly disrupt the electoral process.'”

“A federal judge upheld Georgia’s new political districts that preserve Republican power, ruling Thursday that state legislators ‘fully complied’ with his order to create more districts with a majority of Black voters,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The decision leaves in place political maps safeguarding the Republican Party’s 9-5 advantage in Georgia’s U.S. House delegation and its majorities in the General Assembly. These district lines will likely be used in next year’s elections.”

“U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rejected claims that Republican legislators violated his October ruling that threw out the state’s redistricting two years ago.”

“The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Republican-controlled state Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries ahead of the 2024 election, arguing their GOP advantage is unconstitutional — delivering a long-sought win for Democrats who have stayed deep in the Legislature’s minority for more than a decade,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“The court in a 4-3 decision released Friday afternoon said the court is also prepared to write the new maps themselves if the Legislature and Democratic governor cannot agree on a new plan.”

“The court ordered lawmakers to draw new maps by August, when the next legislative primary election takes place. The ruling forces half of the state Senate and the full Assembly to run in new legislative districts.”

“New York’s highest court ordered the state to redraw its congressional map on Tuesday, making a major pre-election intervention in the 2024 fight for the House that could allow Democrats to tilt a key battleground leftward,” the New York Times reports.

“Powered by a new liberal majority, the State Court of Appeals effectively wiped out the highly competitive map that helped Republicans flip four seats and win the House majority. It said the neutral lines, which it had imposed just last year, were meant only to be a temporary fix.”

Washington Post: “The ruling could be consequential in determining which party controls the House during the next Congress. In 2022, Republicans flipped four districts in New York, giving them a razor-thin majority in the House. Democrats need to win a net of five seats to win back the House next year.”

“Georgia Republican legislators passed a new congressional map Thursday that protects their party’s dominance in the U.S. House and might violate a federal judge’s order requiring an additional majority-Black district,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The redistricting plan, approved by the Georgia House on a party-line vote, is designed to preserve Republicans’ 9-5 advantage in the state delegation to the U.S. House. The revised districts now go to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.”

“Louisiana lawmakers now have until the end of January to draw and pass new congressional boundaries to replace a current map that a federal judge said violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of the state’s Black voters,” the AP reports.

“However, several questions still linger — including if and when the GOP-dominated Legislature will return to the Capitol and, most of all, if lawmakers will be able to agree on a map.”

“Georgia Republican legislators refused to create an additional congressional district with a majority of Black voters and people of color, unveiling a map Friday that could defy a judge’s ruling that the state illegally weakened Black voting power,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“The Republican-drawn map fails to provide additional opportunities for Black representation in the U.S. House, leaving in place the GOP’s 9-5 advantage among Georgia’s congressional delegation.”

Associated Press: “All five justices signed a shortly worded order to affirm a lower court decision that the redistricting plan enacted by Democratic state lawmakers in 2021 succeeded in substantially diluting votes of their political opponents — but that the changes fell short of ‘egregious’ gerrymandering.”

“The district is one of about a dozen in the national spotlight as Republicans campaign to keep their slim U.S. House majority in 2024.”

Wisconsin Public Radio: “The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a redistricting lawsuit that seeks to declare Republican-drawn voting maps unconstitutional, a move that could shift the balance of political power that has existed in the state for more than a decade.”

“North Dakota’s 2021 legislative redistricting plan violates the rights of two Native American tribes because it dilutes their voting strength, a federal judge ruled Friday,” the AP reports.

“New York’s top court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that will determine whether the Democratic-dominated state Legislature will have another chance to draw maps for its 26-member congressional delegation,” Politico reports.

“A Democratic victory in the Court of Appeals would let legislators make the lines for as many as seven Republican-held seats in New York friendlier to Democrats. The stakes are high: Democrats would have kept a majority in Congress in 2022 had they won five additional races.”