威斯康辛州麦迪逊。- -一些备受瞩目的民主党州长已经准备好战斗——热烈支持他们的同事，他们表示将在2026年中期选举前绘制新的国会地图，以有利于民主党人，从而直接反击德克萨斯州共和党人的举动为他们的派对做同样的事。
德克萨斯州共和党议员本周刚刚发布了该州新国会地图的初稿，这可能会在明年的中期选举中翻转三到五个民主党席位。
周四，加州州长。加文·纽瑟姆他立即回应说，他已经与州立法者和国会议员讨论过在11月4日举行一次特别的全州选举，让加州人就新的国会地图进行投票，这些地图可能会有利于民主党人。
本周晚些时候，一些主要的民主党州长在威斯康星州麦迪逊海岸召开夏季政策务虚会，支持纽瑟姆和其他任何在重划选区问题上采取进攻立场的蓝州领导人。
民主党人都不情愿地这样做了，称德克萨斯州共和党人的努力是“违宪”和“非美国的”，希望法院在任何一方提出的新地图实施之前进行干预。与此同时，他们表示，是时候反对特朗普倡导的共和党重划选区了，特别是现在其他共和党领导的州，包括密苏里州，可能会效仿。
威斯康星州州长托尼·埃弗斯(Tony Evers)在谈到共和党的提议时说，“这太不符合美国精神了，它对我们的民主构成了持续威胁。”。“坦率地说，我真的很生气，我们将尽我们所能阻止这种事情发生。”
民主党州长协会(Democratic Governors Association)主席、堪萨斯州州长劳拉·凯利(Laura Kelly)明确支持纽瑟姆、纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔(Kathy Hochul)、伊利诺伊州州长JB·普利兹克(JB Pritzker)以及其他任何正在考虑通过特别选举、特别会议或重新绘制国会地图的其他手段进行反击的州长。
凯利在接受采访时说:“我从来不相信单方面裁军，因此尽管我可能不想参与某些活动，但如果必须这样做，为了公平竞争，我会支持我的民主党同事，他们决定以同样的方式回答。”。
“如果另一方不顾其明显的违宪性而继续这样做，那么我认为我们除了去那里没有其他选择。你不能不带子弹就去前线，”凯利说。
凯利说，她强烈的“偏好”仍然是法院进行干预。“事实上，你知道，这样玩可能对我们有利。好吧，我们也玩这个游戏，我们都去法院。”
然后，凯利说，“我们都输了。”
对于民主党人来说，重新划分选区的过程可能是一场艰苦的战斗，因为每个州的规则各不相同，他们在全国范围内划分选区的机会比他们的同龄人少。
在许多共和党领导的州，划分所有选区的界限是党派立法机构的责任。许多更民主的州使用独立的公民选区重新划分委员会，这是一种用来维护公平和反对不公正选区划分的做法。
“我确实担心，”明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔兹(Tim Walz)在麦迪逊的新闻发布会上说，如果民主党人决定参加重新划分选区的斗争，他们会有什么样的结果。
但是，凯利插话说，“什么都不做风险更大。”
“你知道，我们不能让这种情况发生，假装没事，然后希望法院来解决它。坦白地说，在这一点上，我们不知道法院会怎么做，但由于我们以牙还牙，我们确实发出了一个信息，”凯利补充说。“我们将进行斗争。”
埃弗斯曾两次竞选州长，以结束威斯康星州的不公正选区划分——最终他们的最高法院决定取消该州的非连续州立法地图违宪——表示威斯康星州不会对他们的地图做出任何改变。埃弗斯说，其他可能“碰壁”的州应该做出修改。
“我们没有改变我们的地图。在威斯康辛州，我们努力获得公平的地图，我们将继续这样做…在我内心深处，这是我们必须去的地方。但是什么时候...有人拿枪指着你的头，你必须做点什么，”埃弗斯说。
Govs。凯利、瓦尔兹和其他一些民主党州长也表示，他们将避免在这个周期重绘他们的地图，要么是因为他们领导着共和党占主导地位的州，要么是因为他们的重划过程不允许快速打击当前共和党的努力。
在重新划分选区的问题上报复共和党人的想法，是民主党人策略上的一个显著转变，他们长期以来一直宣扬自己对在宪法问题上“按规则行事”的尊重。
多年来，民主党人一直支持独立的重新划分选区，旨在鼓励更公平地图的规则现在在一些地区阻碍了他们，并使他们在某些地区更具挑战性。
“民主党人应该有礼貌。我们应该保护这个机构。我们预计将遵守这方面的规则，”瓦尔兹说，他表示，该是该党积极进攻以打击特朗普政府的时候了。
“我们不是在和一个正常的政府打交道。我们玩的是一个抛弃所有规则的游戏，如果他组建的法庭不打算这样做，那么我认为有能力确保我们以同样的方式回应的州是义不容辞的。“作为一个国家，我们正处于一个糟糕的境地，但不做出回应会让情况变得更糟。”
Democratic governors throw support behind Newsom, back partisan redistricting
MADISON, Wisc. -- --A number of high-profile Democratic governors are ready to fight -- ardently throwing support behind their colleagues who have said they will draw new Congressional maps to favor Democrats before the 2026 midterm elections in order to directly counterTexas Republicans' movesto do the same for their party.
Texas GOP lawmakers just this week released their first draft of the state's new congressional map that could flip three to five Democratic seats in next year's midterms.
On Thursday, California Gov.Gavin Newsompromptly responded, saying he'd spoken with state legislators and members of Congress about holding a special statewide election on Nov. 4 for Californians to vote on new congressional maps -- ones that would likely favor Democrats.
Convening later in the week for a summer policy retreat on the shores of Madison, Wisconsin, a number of leading Democratic governors have backed Newsom and any other blue state leaders who are taking an offensive position on redistricting.
The Democrats each did so reluctantly, calling Texas Republicans' efforts "unconstitutional" and "un-American" with hopes that the courts intervene before any new maps steered by either party are implemented. In the meantime, they said it's time to fight against the Trump-championed GOP redistricting, especially now that other Republican-led states, including Missouri, might follow suit.
"That is so un-American, and it's a constant threat to our democracy," Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said about Republican proposals. "So I'm really pissed, frankly, and we are going to do whatever we can do to stop this from happening."
Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, explicitly got behind Newsom, Kathy Hochul of New York, JB Pritzker of Illinois and any other governors who are weighing counteraction through special elections, special sessions or additional means of redrawing congressional maps.
"I have never believed in unilateral disarmament, and so while I may not want to participate in certain activities, if I have to, in order to level the playing field, I would support my Democratic colleagues who decide to answer in kind," Kelly said in an interview.
"If the other side is going to pursue this, regardless of the obvious unconstitutionality of it, then I don't think we have any other choice but to go there. You just don't go to the front lines without your bullets," Kelly said.
Kelly said her strong "preference" would still be for courts to intervene. "In fact, it might actually work to our benefit, you know, to play like this. Okay, we'll play this game too, and we all go to court."
Then, Kelly said, "we all lose."
The process of redistricting could prove to be an uphill battle for Democrats, who have less of an opportunity to gerrymander nationwide than their peers across the aisle because of the varied rules of each state.
It's the responsibility of partisan legislatures in many Republican-led states to draw the boundaries of all electoral districts. Many more Democratic states use independent citizen-redistricting commissions -- a practice used to maintain fairness and combat gerrymandering.
"I do worry," Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said during the press conference in Madison, about the outcome for Democrats if they decide to get in the redistricting fight.
But, Kelly jumped in, "there's a bigger risk in doing nothing."
"You know, we can't just let this happen and act like it's fine and hope that the courts fix it. We have no idea, quite honestly, at this point, what the courts might do, but by virtue of us responding in kind, we do send a message," Kelly added. "We will put up a fight."
Evers, who campaigned for governor twice on ending gerrymandering in Wisconsin -- culminating with their Supreme Court's decision to strike down the state's non-contiguous state legislative maps as unconstitutional -- said that Wisconsin would not be making any changes to their maps. Other states, though, who may be "up against the wall" should make modifications, Evers said.
"We're not changing our maps. Here in the state of Wisconsin, we worked hard to get fair maps, and we're going to continue to do so … in my heart of hearts, this is where we have to be. But when ... you have a gun against your head, you got to do something," Evers said.
Govs. Kelly, Walz, and a number of other Democratic governors also said they'd steer clear of redrawing their maps this cycle, either because they lead predominantly Republican states or because their redistricting processes wouldn't allow for a swift process to combat current GOP efforts.
The idea of retaliating against Republicans on the matter of redistricting is a notable shift in strategy for Democrats, who have long touted their reverence for "playing by the rules" on constitutional issues.
For years, Democrats have championed independent redistricting and rules meant to encourage fairer maps are now holding them back in some areas and making it more challenging for them in certain districts.
"Democrats are expected to have the decorum. We're expected to protect the institution. We're expected to follow the rules on this," Walz said, saying time for the party to go aggressively on offense to combat the Trump administration.
"We're not playing with a normal administration. We're playing one that is throwing all the rules out of there, and if the courts that he has packed aren't going to do that, then I think it is incumbent upon states that have the capacity or the ability to make sure that we are responding in kind," said Walz. "It is a terrible spot we're in as a country, but not responding is going to make it even worse."
