Amid a national back-and-forth over redrawing congressional boundaries, national Democrats are out with a new poll showing support for mid-cycle redistricting in Maryland.

Maryland has not yet entered the redistricting fray, but the poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee could put pressure on leaders to try to eke out one more Democratic member of Congress.

Maryland currently has seven Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one Republican — and some believe there are options to redraw the maps to make it possible for all eight seats to be won by Democrats next year. With several states redrawing their maps to favor one party or the other, the possibility a Maryland seat could be flipped blue has drawn attention.

The poll is the latest signal that Maryland is getting pressured to become a player in the redistricting battle, and it comes just as Virginia Democrats appear ready to redistrict. U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House’s top Democrat, has spoken with Maryland leaders about redistricting, according to NBC News.

Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have redrawn maps to favor Republicans; California voters will decide whether to adopt a map favoring Democrats; and Indiana is getting pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration to redistrict to help the GOP. Florida, Kansas and Nebraska are considering pro-GOP mapmaking as well. That’s all amounted to a dizzying battle of states to out-gerrymander each other.

Typically, congressional maps are only redrawn once every 10 years based on new census data. Maryland last redistricted following the 2020 Census.

The DCCC’s polling firm, left-leaning Change Research, concludes that the Democratic base in Maryland supports redistricting and that the majority of the rest of the electorate would likely follow.

Only one-third of the more than 900 likely voters surveyed online said they oppose redistricting, including 28% of independents, according to a Change Research polling memo obtained by The Banner.

The polling memo summarized key findings of the poll but did not include full results. DCCC officials declined to comment on the poll, which was conducted Oct. 8-10 and has a margin of error of 3.5%.

The poll tested pro-redistricting messages and found most were successful with voters.

For example, 63% said the argument that redistricting would serve as a check and balance was either very or somewhat convincing. And 62% of those polled said “sticking it to Trump” was a convincing justification for redistricting.

“The degree to which these messages resonate — even across party lines — shows that voters are able to distinguish between the redistricting being pursued by some red states, and the attempts by blue states to level the playing field,” the Change Research polling memo concluded.

Maryland’s Democratic leaders are split on whether to redistrict.

Gov. Wes Moore has repeatedly said that Maryland should have a conversation about what’s fair when it comes to congressional maps, and House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones says she’s ready to redraw the maps.

But state Senate President Bill Ferguson has expressed reservations about what it means for democracy to redraw maps for purely political reasons outside of the typical cycle. Ferguson told Maryland Matters earlier this fall that redistricting “should be the absolute last option on the table.”

Two Democratic lawmakers have already drawn up their own proposed legislation related to redistricting.

Del. David Moon, a Montgomery County Democrat who is the House majority leader, has a bill that would require Maryland to redistrict any time another state does.

And Sen. Clarence Lam, a Howard County Democrat, has put forward legislation that includes a map that would jump the Eastern Shore-based 1st Congressional District — currently represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Harris — across the Chesapeake Bay to sweep in more Democratic-leaning communities.

If Democratic leaders want to move forward on redistricting, the General Assembly could convene a special session to vote on new maps, or they could wait until they open their next annual session in January.

Redistricting in January would put lawmakers perilously close to the Feb. 24 deadline for candidates to file to run for office in 2026, especially given that a legal challenge would be all but guaranteed.