Andy Harris claims Wes Moore’s redistricting push fuels 2028 ambitions

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, is accusing Gov. Wes Moore of backing an amendment to the state constitution that could eliminate his district through redistricting, arguing that the push is driven by the governor’s alleged presidential ambitions.

The amendment, if approved by voters in November, would give the Democratic-controlled General Assembly far greater latitude to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 election.

“The governor certainly led the charge in trying to eliminate the only Republican in the Maryland delegation in furtherance of his presidential aspirations,” Harris told Fox News Digital in an interview. “It’s obvious that this is not being done for Maryland, it is being done for a national agenda.”

Moore has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2028. but speculation around his potential White House bid remains.

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Harris also called out Moore for engaging in a “photo-op” on Wednesday by publicly signing the bill that will put the amendment on the ballot this fall.

The bill passed Tuesday with three-fifths majorities in both chambers, which is the only requirement for an amendment to become a ballot question, according to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution.

“Gov. Moore, never missing a photo op for his presidential aspirations, convened a signing ceremony, which is a little unusual considering there’s really nothing to sign for the governor,” Harris said. “But again, this is all for show. This is to make sure that he can look Gavin Newsom in the eye and say, ‘Yeah I did something too for mid-cycle redistricting.'”

Fox News Digital reached out to Moore’s office for comment.

Harris, who worked as an anesthesiologist before getting into politics, has represented Maryland’s first congressional district since 2011. The district contains the entire Eastern Shore, a relatively rural part of the state, as well as parts of Baltimore County.

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The proposed amendment Harris is fighting against could allow state lawmakers to carve up his district and make it untenable for a Republican to win.

As it stands, the Maryland Constitution requires General Assembly districts and U.S. House districts to respect natural boundaries and existing county and municipal lines.

The amendment would remove those requirements for congressional districts while leaving them in place for state legislative districts.

“It absolutely sets up a double standard for redistricting in the state of Maryland. And again, the blatant attempt is to eliminate the Republican representation,” Harris said.

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The amendment is already facing a court challenge from the Oversight Project, a conservative watchdog group that filed a complaint Thursday night in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court seeking to keep it off the November ballot.

The Oversight Project, along with Harris, accused state legislators of bypassing the established July 1 deadline to introduce statewide ballot questions.

The ballot question for the amendment was introduced by Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Senate President Bill Ferguson on Aug. 3, more than a month after the deadline.

Fox News Digital reached out to Peña-Melnyk and Ferguson for comment.

The move by Peña-Melnyk and Ferguson at the tail end of the legislative session is a response to a 2022 court ruling that struck down Democratic lawmakers’ proposed congressional map at the time.

Judge Lynne Battaglia found that the map — which added more Democratic voters to Harris’ district — failed to give sufficient regard to the natural boundaries and political subdivisions throughout the state.

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Amending the state constitution could be a way to get around this, but Harris said that even if voters approve the amendment, it would not guarantee that the courts would approve subsequently drawn maps that have “hyper-partisan gerrymandering.”

If the state legislature tried to eliminate or substantially dilute Republican voting power his district, Harris said he would sue based on the precedent set by Battaglia’s 2022 ruling.

Meanwhile, Moore has framed his support of the amendment as a necessary response to GOP redistricting around the country, which he called “political redlining.”

“For over a year, I have warned that Donald Trump and Republicans across the country are working to rig the system, weaken voting rights, and make this pain permanent. I am proud that today we united and took action,” Moore said. “I continue to believe that our country needs national redistricting reform. But until that happens, inaction is not an option.”

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Harris pushed back on Moore’s assertion that Republicans are responsible for the current redistricting battle playing out in dozens of states.

He pointed out that the redistricting organization founded by Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Obama from 2009 to 2015, aggressively pursued litigation to change legislative and congressional maps in North Carolina and Alabama.

However, a mid-decade congressional redraw was successfully enacted by Texas Republicans in 2003. The Supreme Court largely upheld the redraw in 2006 but said one district violated the Voting Rights Act because it diluted Latino voting strength.

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Although courts have upheld the legality of redrawing congressional maps between the decennial censuses, Harris said he would like to move away from the practice in the future.

“I don’t think it is good for anyone,” Harris said. “It’s not good for democracy. You get to know your constituents, your constituents get to know their representative. That’s important in a representative government like we have.”