Many mid-decade redistricting efforts failed after Trump’s call

On Tuesday, Democrats posted sweeping victories, including wins in several congressional districts that Republicans had redrawn to boost their party ahead of the midterms. The results gave Democrats full control of Congress, and as of Tuesday night NPR reported that many of the mid-decade redistricting efforts had failed.

Republicans were bracing for some losses this election cycle. Last year, President Trump urged his party to take what NPR described as the extraordinary step of engaging in mid-decade redistricting efforts. Republicans redrew maps with the expectation that the coalition of voters Trump won over in 2024 would support them again this cycle.

In Florida, race calls by the Associated Press showed multiple Democrats — Kathy Castor, Pia Dandiya and Jared Moskowitz — winning in redrawn districts. Each victory came in a district Republicans had redrawn explicitly to boost the party, NPR reported.

In North Carolina, Democratic Rep. Don Davis held on to his 1st District seat even though Republicans in the state redrew it to be more competitive for the GOP. According to the Downballot, Trump would have won the redrawn 1st by nearly 12 percentage points.

Trump would have won by even more in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District, which Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures held on to, according to the AP race call. Republicans in Alabama had redid the state’s congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

Texas was the first state to redistrict at Trump’s urging, and a few of the redrawn districts had gone to Democrats. In Texas, Republicans were banking on gains made with Latino voters in the new maps.

But many of those voters shifted their support to Democrats this year. The outcome ran against the expectation that the coalition of voters Trump won over in 2024 would support the party again in this cycle.

Taken together, the reported results did not match the seat gains Republicans had sought through the mid-decade redistricting push. Democrats won several redrawn seats, Davis and Figures held districts their states had redrawn, and a few Texas districts went to Democrats. As of Tuesday night, NPR reported that many of those efforts had failed.