Redistricting commission unanimously approves new Ohio Congressional map

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio Redistricting Commission on Friday unanimously approved a new Congressional map that is more GOP-friendly.

Currently, Republicans hold 10 of the 15 Congressional seats. With the new map, Republicans could pick up one or two additional seats. The map will be in effect until 2031.

The new map makes districts held by Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Cincinnati) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) more competitive for Republicans, while the district held by Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) is more blue.

The commission heard testimony about the proposed map on Thursday. Some speakers called the new map a gerrymander and said this proposed map does not represent what Ohioans had in mind when they passed a Constitutional amendment in 2018 to reform the redistricting process.

Gov. Mike DeWine said he is in favor of the proposed map. He said the goal was to propose a map that would get Democrats on board. If the commission didn’t approve a new map by Friday, an even more GOP-friendly map could have been enacted by the legislature with a simple majority.

“For Republicans who might not like this, I would simply say that this very well could be a 12-3 map,” DeWine said. “Those are pretty darn good numbers. And second, it resolves it, and I think lessens the chance that there’ll be a referendum that our side might lose.”

Democrats had initially proposed a map that had eight right-leaning seats and seven left-leaning seats. Democrats said Ohio is about 45% blue, while Republicans argued that recent elections show this is a very red state.

Sentiment toward the map was mixed to opposed, according to those who spoke out during the presentation.

“Who are the members of this commission really working for?” Ohioan Zachary Gibbs said. “Are you working for Ohioans? Are you working for sitting and future congressional representatives who seem to forget about Ohio as soon as that plane takes off for D.C.?”

“Just because you can screw us and you can gerrymander these maps, does not mean that you should do it,” another speaker said.

The new map has 15 counties that are split, but no county is split more than once. Thirteen of the 15 districts have 786,630 people, while the other two have 786,629. Six municipalities and 11 townships are split.

“We are committed to trying to find fairness for the people of Ohio, but this system that we have in the long run is probably going to need to be fixed again,” Ohio Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said.

The Equal Districts Coalition blasted both Republicans for creating a “map that is even more rigged than it was 14 years ago and two anti-gerrymandering reforms ago” and Democrats on the commission for caving in after previously stating they wouldn’t vote for a map that was “more lopsided” than the existing map.

“Thanks to their bipartisan support for adopting this map through the Ohio Redistricting Commission rather than the legislature, Democratic leaders have taken Ohioans’ ability to fight back off the table,” the Equal Districts Coalition said in a statement.

Ohio was legally — and the only state — required to draw a new Congressional map because the 2022 map did not pass with bipartisan support.

Republicans in other red states have redrawn their boundaries mid-cycle at the request of President Donald Trump to help Republicans expand their slim House margin in the midterm elections, where a president’s party typically loses seats. That has prompted some blue states, like California, to also attempt to redraw their maps.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission is made up of seven state leaders, including Democrat and Republican lawmakers, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Auditor Keith Faber and Secretary of State Frank LaRose.