COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Republican-controlled panel in Ohio approved a new congressional map on Friday that could strengthen the GOP’s chances of picking up two additional seats in next year’s U.S. House elections, potentially aiding former President Donald Trump’s efforts to maintain a slim congressional majority.
The move by the Ohio Redistricting Commission comes after the state constitution required a revision of districts adopted after the 2020 census without bipartisan support. Ohio now joins Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, where Republican lawmakers have already redrawn congressional boundaries.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, senators in the Democrat-led General Assembly were expected to vote Friday on a proposed constitutional amendment that would temporarily allow them to bypass the bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to favor Democrats. The Virginia House of Delegates passed the resolution earlier this week.
Trump has been actively encouraging Republican-led states to revisit congressional district boundaries ahead of next year’s elections, and GOP legislatures in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have already acted. In Democratic-led California, voters are currently deciding on new district maps.
The stakes are high: Democrats need to gain just three seats in the 2026 election to take control of the House and limit Trump’s legislative influence. Republicans already hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 congressional seats. The new map could shift competitive districts currently held by Democrats, including Rep. Greg Landsman in Cincinnati and Rep. Marcy Kaptur near Toledo — areas that supported Trump in last year’s presidential election. Kaptur narrowly won her 22nd term last fall by roughly 2,400 votes, while Landsman secured reelection with over 54% of the vote.
In Virginia, the proposed amendment is still in the early stages. It would need to pass the General Assembly again next year and then face a statewide referendum. If approved, Virginia would join California as one of the few Democratic-led states actively participating in the national redistricting fight.
“There’s a double standard for Democrats in authority that somehow we have to lay down while Donald Trump seizes power that we’ve never seen, and the Republicans run the play,” Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said this week.
The amendment would allow Virginia’s legislature to create a new congressional map only when other states undertake redistricting before 2030. Democrats have not revealed their proposed map. Asked if drafting had begun, Speaker Scott remarked, “You’re not naive.”
These developments come as Virginia heads into statewide elections Tuesday, with all 100 seats in the House of Delegates up for grabs. Democrats must retain their narrow majority to advance the amendment next year. Several vulnerable Republican-held seats are also in play, with Democrats hoping to expand their legislative foothold.
Republicans have criticized the Democratic approach, saying it undermines the tradition of bipartisanship and decorum in Virginia politics. U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, whose seat is competitive, noted, “There’s partisan games in Washington that it seems like the partisan games have now trickled down here in Richmond.”
As both parties prepare for 2026, redistricting continues to emerge as a central battleground in the fight for congressional control.