Ohio lawmakers set to redraw congressional districts

By the end of the year, Ohio will have a new congressional map. The state is constitutionally required to start its next redistricting effort within the next few weeks, with the first deadline to pass a new map coming up on Sept. 30. 

“Republicans are going to try to gain two, maybe three seats,” predicted 21 News political analyst Bill Binning. Republicans have supermajority control in the state House and Senate, giving them great control over the new map. 

It comes as Texas and California pursue their own controversial efforts to redraw their congressional districts early, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. President Donald Trump has pushed more Republican-controlled states to revise their maps and add more winnable districts for his party, as the razor-thin GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has made it difficult to enact his agenda. 

Unlike those two states, however, Ohio is required by the state constitution to adopt a new map this year. Democratic state Rep. Lauren McNally, of Youngstown, says she’s “cautiously optimistic” bipartisanship will play a role in the effort.

"The will to create fair maps has to exist, and has to exist with the Republican party,” McNally said. "They have to have the will to not cheat — because that's, at the end of the day, what gerrymandering is and what the president is asking states to do right now.”

No Republican state representatives were available for an interview Friday. Olivia Wile, the press secretary for the Ohio Majority Caucus — which represents state House Republicans — told 21 News lawmakers are continuing to discuss the redistricting timeline and process over the summer recess.

“While no final timeline has been set, the legislature will follow all applicable laws and the U.S. and Ohio Constitutions,” Wile wrote in a statement. 

2022-2026 Ohio Congressional Districts Ohio Secretary of State

The Ohio General Assembly last passed a congressional map in 2021, without Democratic support. After the state’s Supreme Court struck down that map as unconstitutional, the Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) adopted a new map, effective through 2026. 

If the General Assembly doesn’t pass a new map by the Sept. 30 deadline, the ORC has to approve a plan by the end of October. Both of the ORC’s Democrats would need to vote for the map for it to have sufficient support.

If the Sept. 30 and Oct. 31 deadlines pass with no map approved, the General Assembly can pass a congressional map with a simple majority vote by Nov. 30, as it did in November 2021. While that plan would not require Democratic support, it would need to comply with the state constitution’s anti-gerrymandering provisions.