Submitted by Maryland Freedom Caucus
Annapolis Democrats spent months insisting there was nothing to see here. On Tuesday, a Maryland judge told them otherwise — in writing, and in language sharper than anyone expected.
The bottom line: a circuit court judge just ruled that House Bill 2100, the constitutional amendment Governor Wes Moore and legislative Democrats rammed through a two-day special session to pave the way for wiping out Maryland's last Republican congressional seat, was placed on the November ballot unlawfully.
This is the story of how we got here.
The Setup: A Map They Already Lost Once
In 2021, Maryland Democrats were hell-bent on maximizing their control of the state at every level. Already the most gerrymandered state in the union, they drew an 8-0, all-Democrat congressional map which now-Vice Chair of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, Delegate Kathy Szeliga, took to court. Judge Lynne Battaglia struck it down in a 95-page opinion grounded in the Maryland Constitution and Declaration of Rights. The current 7-1 congressional delegation is the product of both parties compromising in 2022.
In pursuit of a potential 2028 presidential run, Governor Wes Moore began pressuring legislative leaders to eliminate the state's last Republican seat — held by Congressman Andy Harris (MD-1), who also chairs the House Freedom Caucus. The House of Delegates passed a bill to do exactly that in February, HB 488, but it stalled and died in the Senate. Senate President Bill Ferguson worried it would invite a court to reaffirm Judge Battaglia's 2022 ruling and hand Republicans an even more favorable map. He held his ground even after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries showed up in Annapolis to lean on him personally. READ MORE AT SOURCE »
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