- - Tracking states’ unprecedented redistricting efforts

Amy O’Kruk, Ethan Cohen, Renée Rigdon, Fredreka Schouten, CNNFebruary 8, 2026 at 12:01 AM

37

Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN

President Donald Trump and Republicans have launched an unprecedented effort to redraw state congressional maps to help protect the party’s narrow majority in the House ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Democrats have responded with redistricting efforts of their own, setting off a series of fights across the country — including in the courts — which will shape the midterm landscape and help determine control of Congress.

Most recently, Virginia Democrats unveiled a proposed congressional map that targets four Republican House members. The new map would give Democrats a 10-1 advantage in the state’s delegation, but it still faces several hurdles before it becomes law. Voters will decide in April on a constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature to change the map, and the entire process is currently under review from the state Supreme Court after a lower court judge ruled lawmakers hadn’t followed the proper procedure.

CNN is tracking new maps and will continue to update with new state developments.

Redistricting, or the process of redrawing congressional district boundaries, typically takes place just once a decade, as states respond to population counts after the decennial census.

But with a historically tight House of Representatives, redistricting has become a critical tactic to shaping the midterm races.

The redistricting process is different in every state. In some places, state legislators can redraw the map on their own, and all that’s needed is the political will. In other states, the redraw might require changing the constitution, a lengthier process which often involves a direct vote of the people.

Overall, Republicans have more opportunities to gain seats through new maps than Democrats do. Republicans have full control of government in more states and many Democratic states have ceded the map-drawing power to independent commissions, moves some of them are now trying to reverse.

Six out of the nine House members targeted by Republican-enacted maps across the country are Black or Latino.

2025 has already featured an unprecedented level of politically motivated mid-decade redistricting, but there could be even more in store. In many states, legal challenges aim to overturn existing maps. And at the Supreme Court, the justices may be poised to strike down key parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act, a decision which would open the floodgates to even more aggressive maps and imperil more seats held by people of color.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been with additional information.

—CNN’s Molly English, Arit John and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report. Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/@SenatorBerger via X/California and Missouri state legislatures

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”