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Speaker Welch pushes back on DCCC, says he has not seen a remap proposal, ‘And we will not be passing any map this week’
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From House Speaker Chris Welch’s spokesperson…
Leader Jeffries said yesterday that a new map didn’t need to be passed this week, but petition filing season ends on November 3rd, which is just six days away. As I told subscribers this morning, it’s like the congressional Democrats are using the Chicago Bears’ Statehouse playbook.
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- low level - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:30 pm:
Unbelievable. Everyone got their picture taken but this basic thing wasnt addressed? No wonder we cant get a majority.
Then again, ask literally any IL Dem operative from the past 30 years and they could share stories of frustrations with the D-Trip.
- Juice - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:33 pm:
Reminder to the DCCC.
Retweeting a Scott Kennedy tweet and tagging the Speaker does not count as submitting a map to the legislative leaders.
- twowaystreet - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:35 pm:
The National Democratic Party is as poorly run as the Illinois Republican Party.
Measuring success purely on media mentions.
- System Reboot - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:41 pm:
Once again, GOP plays 4D chess while Hakeem and the DCCC are playing Candy Land
- here we go again - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:42 pm:
I’m guessing more reasonable D minds recognize that trying to squeeze another D district from a map that’s already been severely squeezed would be risky for Ds.
- Thomas Paine - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:49 pm:
See my comments on the DCCC on the oher thread.
Someone please print them and hand them to Leader Jeffries.
Let me add: Julie Merz is a former staffer for Leader Steny Hoyer, who enjoys a D +17 seat in Maryland as he drifts into retirement.
His seat could easily be redrawn, I am sure, to make Maryland’s only GOP seat, a paltry R +8, winnable.
Great leaders don’t ask others to do things they are unwilling to do themselves. Let me know whe Steny Hoyer and Hakeem Jeffries an ounce a push to redraw the map in Maryland and New York,
- twowaystreet - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 1:55 pm:
Jeffries: Here’s a map proposal, Mr. Speaker.
Welch: Please don’t show it to me. I need deniability. Send it straight to Mr. Kasper.
Kasper: It’s going to be too close; Dems could lose two seats in 2028.
Welch to press: I have not seen the map. If there were a map proposal, which I have never seen personally, I don’t think it’s good enough to vote on this week.
- Amazing - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 2:01 pm:
Mr. Minority Leader, we have been gerrymandering election maps since you were in diapers. Some would say we have a PhD in map fixing . . . . .who do you think you are talking about to Sir?
- Chicagonk - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 2:21 pm:
Democrats should be able to win any toss-up seat in the country in 2026. If they can’t, then the party has immense problems.
- Just Another Anon - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 2:55 pm:
@ Thomas Paine
Maryland is an interesting one, that is rather similar to Illinois from a metrics standpoint, but unique from a geography standpoint. First, they would probably run into population deviation issues. They are currently just under 10% population deviation between districts. Granted MD-5 is the high point, so off loading some may help, but 15k votes isn’t gonna move that needle for them on MD-1. They can only give +/- 10% before it triggers OMOV issues.
Second is the geography. It has been a while since I looked at MD’s rules on contiguity, but generally if you can move within a district using transportation (ferry, bridge, etc) without leaving that district, it meets the contiguity requirement. Hawaii is an exception with their “canoe district” statute as I recall. You are correct that Hoyer’s district could be cannibalized, the problem of the ferry points are in the part of the district that is Republican. The MD-5 “works” because Prince George’s County and Charles County carry the water. (West and Southwest third of the district) (+140k D). St. Mary’s and Calvert counties (where the ferry points are) are the GOP chunks of the district (R+10k). Granted you are shifting, but to get the needle moved you need to shift too much.
If you were to pull from the MD-3, via the Lane Bridge, you run into a similar issue with that chunk of Anne Arundel County. Its both population dense and has a fair amount of R votes (D+25k votes out of 205k total votes) which means you have to push into MD-8 or MD-4 which brings up the population issues and majority minority district issues.
If you try to go around the Bay up north, you run into a fun little district called MD-2. Thats got a little Baltimore City and just about all of Baltimore County. County makes up for Carroll. If you chip away on County, you run gotta make that up in City, which brings you to MD-7, and more population balance and majority minority issues.
In short, MD has the same issues I identified in IL yesterday. Highly leveraged maps, dense population centers, a high number of majority minority districts, and highly cracked R voting blocks. Just like Illinois with more water and better shellfish.
- Trinity - Tuesday, Oct 28, 25 @ 3:31 pm:
So why is the Speaker’s office saying they don’t have the maps? When CBC is telling folks they gave the maps to Harmon & Welch? So all those bragging they met with Hakeem Jefferies was for what? DCCC needs to zip it and take all the seats. We do just fine without them here. They’ve never cared about Black or Latino voters, no need to start now.