In various states around the U.S., lawmakers have been attempting to redraw congressional districts to give them an advantage in the 2026 midterms. This is a perfect example of gerrymandering, something that has impacted U.S. politics since the 1800s.
In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott was asked by the Trump administration to redraw some of the state’s more competitive U.S. House districts to be more favorable for Republicans. In response, Democratic state legislators left the state in order to halt the vote from going through.
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On the West Coast, Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has responded to Texas’s redistricting efforts by asking his state to do the same, but in favor of Democrats, attempting to negate any Republican gains.
Gerrymandering was a term first used in 1812, when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill proposed by the Democratic-Republican Party to redistrict the state. According to the Library of Congress, "One of the remapped, contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a mythological salamander." “Gerry-” comes from the name of the governor, and “-mander” comes from the word “salamander.”
Some states, such as Texas, are “gerrymandered” much more than others, such as Virginia, which was found to be one of the fairest states in the nation for districting efforts by a Princeton University study.
Many states have redistricting commissions that make it harder for legislators to draw maps in their party’s favor, one of those states being Virginia.