The announcement by Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson that his chamber won’t join the nationwide push to redraw congressional districts wasn’t just saying no to his House counterpart or to Gov. Wes Moore. He was saying no to the entire Democratic Party.

And now the party is pushing back — and trying to strong-arm him.

U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters he’d spoken with Moore and Maryland leaders and that they would “respond aggressively.”

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Ferguson on social media to “move out of the way and let someone else lead.”

Virginia’s Senate president, a day after walloping Republicans statewide, questioned Ferguson’s manhood.

“Get our victory in Virginia out of your mouth while you echo MAGA talking points. Grow a pair and stand up to this President,” Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat, wrote on social media.

Even Mr. Sulu, actor George Takei, set his social media to “stun” in roasting Ferguson’s decision.

President Donald Trump has pushed Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and other Republican-controlled states to tilt congressional districts in his favor. Democrats won big Tuesday in a California measure to redraw five congressional districts in their favor — a sign the party base is eager to join the redistricting fight.

Ferguson argued that even an attempt to seize Maryland’s eight House seats could backfire if a judge overrules their map and hands more districts to Republicans.

“There’s no trial run here,” he said in an interview. “These are real decisions that have real consequences.”

Ferguson’s worries stem from Maryland’s most recent redistricting attempt. A judge sided with Republicans in a 2022 lawsuit and struck down Democrats’ map that would have redrawn Maryland’s last GOP stronghold, calling it “an extreme partisan gerrymander.”

Ferguson said the current 7-1 map is fair and sending seven Democrats to the U.S. House provides Maryland with certainty and stability. He has previously warned redistricting could risk Americans’ trust in democracy. And it’s hypocritical for Democrats to criticize Republicans for diluting Black and Latino political power through redistricting, Ferguson said, and then do the same thing to Republicans.

“I understand that people are really angry and upset, and I am angry and upset too,” he said.

“We are all feeling the pressure of democracy under threat, and the question is, how best to stand up to it and to fight.”

He said he remains confident in his legal analysis and that he has support from the majority of his caucus.

“People are quick to make judgments, but they don’t have full information,” said Sen. Malcolm Augustine, a Prince George’s County Democrat who serves as Ferguson’s right hand in the Senate.

Ferguson has done his homework, he said, and has governed through previous redistricting.

Erik Nisbet, a policy and communications professor at Northwestern University, agreed with Ferguson.

“I don’t think the way to save democracy is to destroy democracy,” he said.

The best way for Democrats to take back power, he said, is to be “better at winning elections.”

Top Democrats and advocates have pushed back on Ferguson’s stance. They say democracy was already under threat from the Trump administration; so too was Maryland. Doing nothing would be riskier.

“We have not just a political but a moral and ethical obligation to fight them back on the political terrain they have created,” U.S. Rep Jamie Raskin said. “There is no alternative there.”

The Montgomery County Democrat served with Ferguson in the state Senate and believes the man he called his friend is responding in good faith.

Concerns over a court challenge could be “perfectly legitimate,” Raskin said, and should be weighed. But, he added, that’s a discussion about legal strategy and not the same as purposefully drawing districts based on race.

“I think it’s legitimate to engage in a tactical consideration,” he said, “but first we need to establish that this is the right thing for us to be doing.”

Many powerful Democrats want to get that train moving.

Moore, with the backing of House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, has set up a redistricting commission to evaluate the maps and appointed Democratic ally U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks as chair.

“I think what this moment requires is us using our time, using our intellectual energy to actually push and to make sure that we have fair maps — not to spend time trying to figure out why we should not do anything,” Moore told reporters Tuesday.

Brian Frosh served as Maryland’s attorney general during the last court challenge and will serve on Moore’s Redistricting Advisory Commission.

It’s likely a new map would pass a court challenge, he said, and far less likely a court would redraw districts if it disagreed.

“Trying to draw a new map is a very low-risk proposition,” the Democrat said. The worst-case scenario, in his opinion, would be the court reverting to the current maps.

Comparing the current proposal to racial gerrymandering does not hold water, said Alvin Tillery, a Democratic strategist and co-founder and CEO of 2040 Strategy Group, a research, polling and digital ad firm. The U.S. Supreme Court gutted the law that protects against it.

“That train has left the station,” he said. “The best thing he can do to protect communities of color is to make sure that the Democrats have an opportunity to win the House.”

Del. Robbyn Lewis, a Democrat who represents the same Baltimore district as Ferguson, said she believes her constituents want her to protect them and fight back on their behalf.

“For me, redistricting is one of the few tools we have at this point,” she said. “Even the threat of it is an act of resistance.”

Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive activists representing tens of thousands of Marylanders is applying pressure directed at Ferguson. And a flood of social media commenters wished a primary challenger on him.

Redistricting is about more than just lines, said Larry Stafford, director of Progressive Maryland.

Latino communities face threats from federal immigration officials. Federal workers have lost their jobs. Schools have lost funding. And Maryland will continue to lose hundreds of millions in federal money because of policy changes in D.C. All this and more mean every seat in the U.S. House matters, Stafford said.

Ferguson and the Maryland Senate must fight back “because it could come down to Maryland,” he said.

Although there’s still time to get the ball rolling, it’s running short. Moore has not ruled out calling a special session. And lawmakers in both chambers say they’re ready to start the next legislative session in January with redistricting proposals.

Both chambers of Maryland’s General Assembly would have to pass new maps, and the governor would need to sign off on them. And Maryland Republicans have promised a court challenge.

But Ferguson hasn’t flinched.