🌽 A fresh crop of blue and even purple states could emerge as potential redistricting targets ahead of 2028, according to more than 20 federal and state Democratic lawmakers we spoke to.

Why it matters: This week's Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act has tamped down some of the Democratic resistance that kept many states from pursuing extreme gerrymanders this election cycle.

• 🍎 House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar tells us that his home state of California may take another bite of the apple after drawing a new map for 2026.
• 💪 "We're not going to back away from a fight," he said, adding, "We'll see what Southern states do leading into 2028, when California will respond just like we responded to Texas."
• Washington and Oregon are two other possibilities, Aguilar told us. Both states would be tough lifts, he said, but the VRA ruling has meaningfully changed Democrats' calculus.

State of play: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in an interview with Politico, named New York, Illinois, Colorado and Maryland as possible targets.

• 🚨 A House Democrat from New York told us Jeffries is "dead serious" about pushing redistricting in his home state and predicted Democrats would "likely win" a public redistricting referendum.

Even some legislators who previously resisted redistricting in their states appear to be warming up to the idea after Wednesday's decision.

• Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford was one of several Black Caucus members who pushed back against Gov. JB Pritzker's attempt to redistrict last fall. He told us that "all things should be considered at this point."
• "We can't just sit back and watch Republicans and the courts erode voter rights protection and do nothing," Ford, the Democratic nominee in the state's safely blue U.S. House 7th District, said in a phone interview yesterday.

📢 What they're saying: Democrats need to "keep everything on the table," said Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-N.J.), "and if that's the game we're going to play across the country, then I think we need to be prepared to engage."

• "At a minimum," Menendez said, lawmakers should "think about what that would look like, make sure that we're ready from a process perspective and have a vision of what it could be."

🤔 The intrigue: House Democrats told us they are going to simultaneously push legislation to eliminate gerrymandering nationwide.

• "Things are changing dramatically, and the public hates partisan gerrymandering, so I think we've got to give it a try," said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
• Raskin, who said he would be "centrally" involved in that effort, thinks some Republicans "could be persuaded" to get on board.

Go deeper: A state-by-state rundown of Democrats' possible targets

— Andrew Solender and Justin Kaufmann

Alabama is falling in line with the White House on mid-cycle redistricting, with Republican Gov. Kay Ivey calling lawmakers back into session to redraw maps if the Supreme Court gives the green light.

• 💬 "I am ensuring Alabama is prepared should the courts act quickly enough to allow Alabama's previously drawn congressional and state Senate maps to be used during this election cycle," Ivey said today.
• Alabama's state primary is scheduled for May 19.

🧭 State of play: In addition to Alabama and Louisiana, Republicans are eyeing two other Southern states — South Carolina and Tennessee — as opportunities to draw more GOP-friendly maps following this week's ruling.

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has said his state won't move before 2026 but could act ahead of the 2028 cycle.
• Mississippi and Texas have already held their primaries, making mid-cycle redistricting less likely.

👀 By the numbers: If Republicans take an aggressive approach in Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee, they can potentially pick up six seats that are currently being held by Black lawmakers this cycle.

— Hans Nichols

Congressional Democrats aren't buying President Trump's declaration that the hostilities the U.S. initiated against Iran on Feb. 28 have been "terminated."

Why it matters: Republicans have not jumped in to defend — or dispute — the formal notification Trump sent to Congress this afternoon.

• 😡 "Trump is trying to do another end-run around Congress, declaring his illegal war 'terminated,' when it's anything but," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told us. "This is a farce and no self-respecting Republican should believe it."
• "President Trump declaring the war with Iran 'terminated' doesn't reflect the reality that tens of thousands of U.S. service members in the region are still in harm's way," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

⏰ State of play: By declaring the hostilities over, Trump is effectively resetting the 60-day clock under the War Powers Act.

• "On April 7, 2026, I ordered a two-week ceasefire. The ceasefire has since been extended. There has been no exchange of fire between United States forces and Iran since April 7, 2026," Trump wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson today.
• 💥 "The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated."

The bottom line: Expect Democrats in both chambers to challenge Trump's declaration by bringing war powers resolutions to the floor when lawmakers return from recess in the second week of May.

• The Senate yesterday blocked a war powers resolution aimed at forcing Trump to end — or seek authorization for — military action against Iran. Two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted with Democrats.

Share this story

— Hans Nichols