On October 31, 2025, two pivotal states—Ohio and Virginia—took center stage in America’s intensifying battle over congressional redistricting, setting the stage for a high-stakes 2026 midterm election. The moves, driven by each state’s partisan leadership, have the potential to shift the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, where just three seats separate the majority from the minority. With President Donald Trump urging Republican-led states to redraw maps in their favor, and Democrats in blue states responding in kind, the nation finds itself in the throes of a redistricting arms race.
In Ohio, the Republican-controlled Redistricting Commission adopted a new map for U.S. House districts, a decision that could hand the GOP two additional congressional seats next year. According to The Associated Press, this move comes as Republicans already hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 congressional seats. The new districts are poised to strengthen GOP prospects in two particularly competitive areas: the Cincinnati district of Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman and the Toledo district of Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Kaptur, a long-serving lawmaker, narrowly defended her seat last year by a margin of just 2,400 votes—less than one percentage point—in a district that supported Trump in the last presidential election. Landsman, meanwhile, was re-elected with just over 54% of the vote.
The timing of Ohio’s decision was critical. The commission faced an October 31 deadline to adopt new districts; failure to act would have shifted the task to the GOP-dominated state legislature, which could have drawn even more favorable lines for Republicans. Yet, in a rare show of unity, all seven commissioners—five Republicans and two Democrats—voted in favor of the map. The bipartisan vote, however, did little to quell public outrage. During the commission’s proceedings, Ohio residents lined up to voice their dismay. Julia Cattaneo, sporting a shirt emblazoned with “gerrymandering is cheating,” denounced the map as even more skewed toward Republicans than its predecessor. “Yes, you are compromising—your integrity, honor, duty and to represent Ohioans,” she declared, as reported by The Associated Press. Another resident, Scott Sibley, was even more direct: “This map is an affront to democracy, and you should all—every one of you—be ashamed.”
Republican state Auditor Keith Farber, a commission member, defended the new districts. He argued that the geographic distribution of Ohio’s population makes it nearly impossible to draw a map with eight Republican and seven Democratic districts, as some critics had suggested, without splitting cities, counties, and townships. “Because many Democrats live in cities and many Republicans in rural areas, there was no way to draw a map creating eight Republican and seven Democratic districts,” Farber said during a heated exchange.
Ohio’s redistricting was not merely a partisan maneuver; it was also a constitutional requirement. The state constitution mandated new districts because the previous map, adopted after the 2020 census, lacked bipartisan support. This legal framework set Ohio apart from other states, where redistricting has often been a more openly political process. Nonetheless, Ohio now joins Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina—states where Republican lawmakers have already revised congressional districts in the wake of Trump’s calls to action.
Meanwhile, in Virginia, the Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that could allow lawmakers to bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission and redraw congressional districts before the 2026 midterm elections. On October 31, the state Senate passed the resolution, following the House’s approval two days earlier. If ultimately enacted, the amendment would empower the legislature to craft new maps whenever other states do so between now and 2030. But the path forward is hardly straightforward: the measure must pass the General Assembly again next year and then win approval from voters in a statewide referendum.
The stakes in Virginia are especially high. The state is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans. With all 100 seats in the House of Delegates up for grabs in statewide elections on November 4, Democrats must maintain their slim majority to keep the amendment alive for another year. The proposed changes, supporters argue, are a necessary response to what they see as Trump-inspired gerrymandering in Republican-led states. “Our voters are asking to have that voice. They’re asking that we protect democracy, that we not allow gerrymandering to happen throughout the country, and we sit back,” said Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola, according to The Associated Press.
But the move has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans, who say Democrats are betraying the will of Virginia voters, who overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan redistricting commission in recent years. “Heaven forbid that we actually link arms and work together on something,” said Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain. “What the voters of Virginia said is, ‘We expect redistricting to be an issue that we work across the aisle on, that we link arms on.’”
Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, a longtime proponent of the state’s bipartisan commission, argued that the amendment is a temporary measure aimed at preventing a “constitutional-norm-busting president” from upending national elections by pressuring state legislatures. “We’re not trying to end the practice of fair maps,” VanValkenburg said. “We are asking the voters if, in this one limited case, they want to ensure that a constitutional-norm-busting president can’t break the entire national election by twisting the arms of a few state legislatures.”
The developments in Ohio and Virginia are part of a broader national struggle. Democrats are pushing back wherever they can. In California, voters are considering a redistricting plan passed by the Democratic-led Legislature. The political parties are locked in a fierce contest: Democrats need to pick up just three seats in the 2026 elections to flip control of the House and block Trump’s legislative agenda. The outcome of these redistricting battles could determine not only the makeup of the next Congress but the direction of national policy for years to come.
As the dust settles from this week’s dramatic developments, one thing is clear: the fight over who draws the lines on America’s political map is far from over. With deadlines looming, referendums pending, and lawsuits almost certain, the 2026 midterms promise to be among the most consequential—and contentious—in recent memory.
