Politics

Wes Moore launches Maryland redistricting commission after top state Dem stymies effort

Published

8 months ago

November 4, 2025

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is pushing to redraw the state’s congressional maps, announcing on Tuesday the creation of a commission that will propose new lines ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Moore’s announcement that he’s creating the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission comes a week after Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson sent a letter to dozens of state lawmakers declaring “the Senate is choosing not to move forward with mid-cycle redistricting.”

It sets up a clash between the two Democratic leaders in a blue-leaning state where any effort to redraw the map will net a single seat, given that Maryland Democrats already dominate the state’s congressional delegation with seven of its eight U.S House seats. It also comes as Democrats are ramping up their efforts to change maps to match President Donald Trump’s moves to redistrict red-leaning states to net additional seats for Republicans.

“My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” Moore said in a statement Tuesday. “This commission will ensure the people are heard..”

The commission will be chaired by Maryland Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a close ally of Moore’s who he helped get elected to the Senate last year. Moore’s other appointees include Brian Frosh, the state’s former Democratic attorney general who served under former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, and Ray Morriss, the nonpartisan mayor of the city of Cumberland.

The other appointees of the commission include Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, who has been public about her intent to launch a redistricting push, and Ferguson “or designee.”

Reached for comment on whether he’d join the commission, a spokesperson for Ferguson responded simply: “We’ll see.”

Moore, considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, is itching for Maryland to enter the national mid-decade redistricting fight that touched off earlier this year when Trump urged the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature to redraw districts to pick up five seats that favor Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms.

Moore himself has characterized what Trump is doing as “nothing more than political redlining,” a reference to the discriminatory housing practice that kept Black Americans out of predominantly white neighborhoods by denying them mortgages.

Ferguson, who is white, in his letter last week also made a racial argument against moving to redraw state lines. He said Maryland, which has a governor, House speaker and attorney general who are all Black, has long fought against racial gerrymandering that was aimed at “diluting” the Black vote. It would be “hypocritical to say that it is abhorrent to tactically shift voters based on race, but not to do so based on party affiliation,” he wrote.

In California on Tuesday, voters take up a ballot measure, Proposition 50, the mid-decade gerrymander that is being led by Gov. Gavin Newsom. If it passes as expected, it would offset the GOP pickups that the Texas redistricting effort created.

Politics

The money runs out: Socialism, on the rise in NYC, is being routed elsewhere

Published

13 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The money runs out: Socialism, on the rise in NYC, is being routed elsewhere

Follow the money, and it is clear why socialism is vanishing from Latin America and thriving in America’s blue cities at the same time…
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Politics

GOP split on path forward after birthright citizenship blow

Published

13 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

In today’s issue: ▪ GOP divided on birthright citizenship plan ▪ DSA topples another incumbent in Denver ▪ House takes off after SAVE America Act standoff ▪ NPR explains mistaken Alito report Republicans on Capitol Hill are divided over the best path forward after the Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship through…
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Politics

After primary flop, San Jose’s mayor banks on World Cup bounce

Published

18 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Matt Mahan suffered a disappointing finish in California’s gubernatorial primary last month, but the World Cup has offered the mayor of Silicon Valley’s largest city the chance of an immediate remontada.

His home San Jose, riding a sports tourism surge, stands to gain more economically today as the U.S. national team opens knockout play in Santa Clara. Mahan told Blue Light News on Friday that he had not yet attended a match in the bordering city, but had been soaking in the action at watch parties in San Jose, where attendees have been so numerous they’ve begun watching from the tops of nearby parking garages to get a better view.

A FIFA official watch party in downtown San Jose’s San Pedro Square is streaming all 104 games and has hosted more than 300,000 fans, by the city’s count.

“It’s been just an incredible experience,” Mahan said. “We’re on track to double, if not triple, the amount of attendance we expected.”

A shooting a block from the venue Sunday evening was a reminder of the security challenges posed by such large gatherings, but city officials said the deadly incident wasn’t connected to the event and didn’t occur while matches were being streamed. Watch parties resumed on Monday and are set to carry on through the tournament — with an additional screen to spread out the crowds.

The U.S. match against Bosnia and Herzegovina today will be the last of six tournament games played in the South Bay, capping a banner sports year in which the region hosted the Super Bowl and NCAA March Madness games. San Jose officials tweaked their plans for the lineup’s longest and only international competition based on how the other events went, adding TVs to watch parties and looking for ways to limit congestion, Mahan said.

“One of the things we learned during the NFL Super Bowl experience was that it got fairly congested in the middle of the action, and we want to spread people out a little bit more, and so we’ve, we’ve got multiple screens up there, very large screens, so there’s no reason to crowd up front,” Mahan said.

Local governments coordinated to plan for the string of high-profile events, and San Jose hired dedicated staff to prepare for them. The planning, overseen by former Olympic short track speed skater Tommy O’Hare, took two years, while the city became involved in seeking the U.S., Mexico and Canada’s joint bid to host the World Cup over a decade ago.

The city embarked on a marketing campaign to attract visitors to San Jose Mineta International Airport — a lesser-known hub than SFO but one just minutes driving from Levi’s Stadium. Mahan opted not to name names over security concerns, but he said “a ton” of foreign dignitaries have landed at SJC during the tournament.

Representatives from China, South Korea and a half-dozen other countries were set to attend an overlapping summit in San Jose on international innovation and investment this week, mingling with expected attendees from Bay Area tech giants including NVIDIA and Apple.

But the mayor — a Democrat who finished sixth in the state’s jungle primary for governor in June — said the focus during the tournament has been less on fostering international relationships than on the fan experience.

“Our North Star has been, you know, whether you can afford a ticket to the big game, we want you to be able to have a fun, accessible, and memorable World Cup experience in downtown San Jose,” Mahan said. “I think we’ve proven that we’re offering that.”