Multiple Democratic governors are supportive of their colleagues’ interests in redrawing their state’s Congressional maps to benefit Democratic Party candidates ahead of the 2026 midterms, responding to a push from President Trump and others to draw new lines in Texas to be more favorable to GOP candidates.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said she is supportive of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and other Democratic governors who have shown openness to altering district maps to benefit Democratic candidates next year.
“I have never believed in unilateral disarmament, and so while I may not want to participate in certain activities, if I have to, in order to level the playing field, I would support my Democratic colleagues who decide to answer in kind,” Kelly said in an interview with ABC News that was published Saturday morning.
“If the other side is going to pursue this, regardless of the obvious unconstitutionality of it, then I don’t think we have any other choice but to go there. You just don’t go to the front lines without your bullets,” Kelly told the outlet, adding that her “preference” would be for the courts to step in.
Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, along with Wisconsin’s Gov. Tony Evers (D) and other Democratic governors, was in Madison, Wisc., for a summer policy retreat.
Trump wants Republicans to pick up five seats in Texas. Redistricting typically happens every 10 years, but the effort by Texas could help Republicans yield five spots and ultimately help the party hold the majority in the House.
On Saturday, the Texas House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting advanced proposed congressional maps that would give the GOP an opportunity to snatch five House seats next year.
Democrats have pushed back, including Texas Democrats who have accused the GOP of “trying to rig the midterms.”
Evers, who said that Wisconsin will not be changing its Congressional lines, argued that Democrats need to do more to push back against Republicans.
“We’re not changing our maps. Here in the state of Wisconsin, we worked hard to get fair maps, and we’re going to continue to do so … in my heart of hearts, this is where we have to be. But when … you have a gun against your head, you got to do something,” Evers said, according to ABC.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who was ex-Vice President Harris’s running mate during the 2024 presidential election, said that Democrats are not dealing with a “normal administration.”
“We’re playing with one that is throwing all the rules out. I think it is incumbent upon states that have the capacity or the ability to make sure that we are responding in kind,” Walz said on Friday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It is a terrible spot we’re in as a county, but not responding is going to make it even worse.”
Florida might follow Texas’ footsteps as a growing number of Republicans in the state are showing support for altering Congressional district lines.
