“I appreciated the meeting with Leader Jeffries this morning,” Ferguson said in a statement after the meeting. “It’s precisely because we want Leader Jeffries in the majority that most members in the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus do not support moving forward with mid-cycle redistricting that will backfire in our state courts and lose Democrats in Congress.”

Jeffries, for his part, challenged Ferguson’s vote count and said “a forceful Democratic response” was needed to counter President Donald Trump’s “malignant effort to rig the midterm elections.”

“Bill Ferguson authentically believes that the votes don’t exist in the State Senate to move forward,” Jeffries said. “The only way to find out is to allow an immediate up-or-down vote on the Senate floor with respect to the new congressional map passed by the House of Delegates.”

Ferguson’s opposition has remained steadfast since October, when he first announced his decision not to bring new maps to the Senate floor. 

Since then, Gov. Wes Moore has embraced redistricting, and the Maryland House of Delegates followed suit, passing a map earlier this month that would likely erase the sole GOP seat in the state’s congressional delegation. But without Ferguson’s blessing, the current map, a compromise with Republicans approved in 2022, is expected to stand.

Jeffries also met with Moore, House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk, Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Scott Phillips, and other members of the Maryland House Democratic Caucus in his swing through Annapolis, according to a readout of the meetings.

“I thanked them all for their leadership and courage in advancing a more competitive congressional map for the great state of Maryland,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries has separately been involved in efforts to redistrict in Virginia, Illinois, and beyond — part of a tit for tat with Trump that could determine the balance of power in Washington next year. Republicans currently hold a one-seat majority in the House and face historical headwinds with Trump in the White House.

Ferguson has frequently argued that a heavily gerrymandered map in Maryland could be struck down by the courts, as happened the last time Democrats attempted to draw Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) out of office. In a doomsday scenario, Republicans could pick up one or even two seats if courts intervene and draw less favorable districts for 2026. 

The GOP is relishing the opportunity, with the National Republican Congressional Committee telling the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that it has hired legal counsel and is preparing lawsuits if Ferguson decides to move ahead.

But Jeffries and other congressional Democrats have rejected those concerns as “far-fetched.”

“With our country under extreme assault by Republicans, the people of Maryland deserve nothing less,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries has found more success in Virginia, where Democrats have teed up a special ballot election that, if it advances, could let them draw a new map with several more blue seats. The redistricting push is generally expected to be a wash, however, as Republicans pursue gerrymanders in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere.

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Trump faced a similar setback as Jeffries in Indiana, when state Republicans rejected his effort to draw new maps in a dramatic vote on the Senate floor.

Asked if Ferguson agreed to holding a vote in the Maryland Senate, Jeffries later told reporters the Senate president was going to “have a conversation with his members, and we’ll see what happens from there.”