Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is preserving the possibility of congressional redistricting by creating a commission overseen by a political ally that will issue recommendations for new maps.

“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 outlining the new commission.

The move comes less than a week after Senate President Bill Ferguson, a fellow Democrat, threw cold water on the idea of redrawing the maps to favor their party.

The group will hold public hearings, solicit public feedback on the current maps and provide recommendations. Moore did not announce any meeting dates for the commission, nor did he say when its recommendations would be due.

Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday the Senate would participate “in a process which includes in-person listening sessions in each of Maryland’s eight existing congressional districts.”

“Marylanders’ voices remain central to this process, and these public meetings will provide an opportunity for voters to hear about the unique legal barriers in Maryland,” the Baltimore Democrat posted on social media.

Moore said he’s not trying to apply political pressure on Ferguson and that the commission was about making sure all voices are heard. The governor said he’s glad the Senate will participate in the group and the legislature will play a key role in the process.

“But I’m also very clear there’s not one person that can stop a democratic process from happening,” he told reporters during a news conference.

The governor will meet with Ferguson later this week to discuss redistricting, he said and a spokesperson for Ferguson confirmed.

Meanwhile, the commission’s work is already underway. Moore said the group will collect public feedback in a “multitude of different ways.” When asked for specifics, he explained the commission will use “public ways” and technology to gather opinions.

The governor said he will not rule out calling the legislature back for a special session ahead of its 90-day regular session set to start in January.

Seven out of eight of Maryland’s U.S. House of Representatives seats are held by Democrats. But Maryland has been getting pressure from national Democrats to redraw the boundaries to create an 8-0 map that would counter President Donald Trump-inspired new maps in Republican-led states.

Moore has a partner in the effort in House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, but Ferguson has insisted it’s a bad idea and that the majority of the state Senate is opposed.

“It’s a race to the bottom happening nationally,” Ferguson said in a TV interview over the weekend.

Moore’s redistricting commission would be chaired by U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a fellow Democrat and early supporter of the governor. His other appointees would be Democratic former Attorney General Brian Frosh and Republican Mayor Ray Morriss of Cumberland.

Jones and Ferguson or their designees would also be on the commission. Jones announced Tuesday she’d appointed Charles County Democrat Del. C.T. Wilson.

She said, Wilson “will listen to all perspectives” during public hearings to “ensure fair congressional maps.”

Alsobrooks made clear in a statement that the commission is part of the Democratic response to Republican redistricting efforts.

“We have a Republican Party that is trying to rig the rules in response to their terrible polling,” Alsobrooks said. “Our democracy depends on all of us standing up in this moment.”

State GOP leaders blasted the merits and partisan makeup of Moore’s commission, saying the lack of Republican representation in Maryland’s federal delegation would serve to solidify the state as a “one-party” Democratic stronghold.

Dels. Jason Buckel and Jesse Pippy in a joint statement said the commission was a “bogus and rigged effort” meant “to eliminate all Republican voices from representing our citizens, even from regions where they are the clear majority.”

Maryland’s only Republican in Congress, U.S. Rep Andy Harris, holds the seat likely to be redrawn more favorable to a Democratic candidate and covers the Eastern Shore and parts of Harford and Baltimore counties. Harris won just under 60% of the vote in 2024.

Republicans in the state Senate railed against Alsobrooks’ participation on the commission as the federal shutdown entered its 35th day.

“She should be in Washington doing her job,” said Sens. Stephen Hershey and Justin Ready.

GOP Party Chair Nicole Beus Harris, who is married to the congressman representing the 1st District said, she would welcome a “genuinely fair redistricting process one that would restore at least two, if not three, Republican congressional districts in Maryland.”

Alsobrooks prioritized cementing “Democratic dominance” in Maryland over reopening the federal government, the statement said.

Moore offered further evidence of the commission’s aim in his announcement, which recalled a redistricting commission established by then-Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, following the 2010 census.

That redistricting effort resulted in maps that were considered the most gerrymandered in the nation. The districts sprawled across Maryland in odd shapes, with one judge famously describing a district as “reminiscent of a broken-winged pterodactyl, lying prostrate across the center of the state.”

O’Malley later testified during a deposition that while he intended to follow redistricting laws, he also intended to “create a district where the people would be more likely to elect a Democrat than a Republican.”

Moore made no mention of former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s redistricting commission. Established following the 2020 census, that commission had a balance of Republican, Democratic and unaffiliated members, including three co-chairs.

The Hogan commission recommended a map that would have given Republicans a chance of winning two or three of the eight House seats.

The Democratic-dominated General Assembly instead approved a map that favored their party. Hogan vetoed it, lawmakers overrode the veto and it ended up in court. Amid the litigation, lawmakers agreed to the map that’s in use today.

Doug Mayer, a Republican strategist and Hogan’s communications director during his first term, has been involved in challenging previous Democratic-drawn districts. He called Moore’s commission a “sham” and a “joke.”

“Who is he for: Marylanders? Or his national ambitions?,” Mayer said.

In announcing his commission, Moore referenced the need for “fair and representative maps,” but he has not publicly identified any shortcomings with the current maps.

Of Maryland’s 4.3 million voters, nearly 52% are Democrats, about 24% are Republicans, 23% are unaffiliated and the rest belong to other parties, according to the most recent state elections data.

Asked by The Banner last week what is unfair about Maryland’s maps, Moore spoke broadly about lack of competitiveness in districts across the nation.

“What I will continue to say is that Maryland needs to go through a process of establishing: Do we have fair maps?” Moore said. “Especially if Donald Trump is trying to rig a system to try to win an election by asking only Republican states to do that.”

If Moore wants to have new districts in place for the 2026 midterm congressional elections, he would need to move fast. The new maps would almost certainly face a court challenge that could take weeks or months to play out, and the deadline for candidates to file for office is at the end of February.

The Maryland General Assembly would have to vote to approve the new maps, either in a special legislative session or during their next regular session, which is scheduled to start in January.

Moore also would need to overcome Ferguson’s opposition; as presiding officer, Ferguson is not obligated to hold votes on a Moore-backed redistricting plan.