Democratic Gov. Josh Stein lacks veto power over redistricting under state law, leaving the plan poised for implementation unless challenged in court.This move marks the third instance this year of a Republican-controlled state legislature responding to Trump’s call for aggressive redistricting strategies, following similar actions in Texas and Missouri.In Texas, where the push began in earnest, Republicans unveiled a proposed map on July 30, 2025, aiming to flip up to five Democratic-held seats through mid-decade adjustments.The effort stems from a pair of long-running legal battles, including a 2024 ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned prior district configurations in areas like Baytown and Galveston, creating an opening for the redraw.
Texas Republicans have cited population shifts and compliance with voting rights laws as justifications, though critics argue it’s a partisan power grab encouraged by Trump. By September 2025, state officials had begun walking back some initial rationales amid scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, but the plan remains on track for adoption.Other GOP-led states, including Ohio, Kansas, and Indiana, are weighing or advancing comparable mid-cycle changes, capitalizing on their legislative majorities to redraw lines outside the traditional decennial census timeline. Such tactics have historical roots.
Texas itself pursued a similar mid-decade redistricting in 2003 under then-Gov. Rick Perry, who helped solidify Republican dominance in the state’s delegation.
Democrats have decried these efforts as unfair gerrymandering, but Republicans counter that many blue states have long employed similar strategies to entrench their own advantages.
For instance, Illinois Democrats have drawn maps that pack Republican voters into a handful of districts, allowing the party to hold a supermajority in the state’s congressional delegation despite competitive statewide races.
In Maryland, convoluted district shapes have helped Democrats secure seven of eight House seats in a state where Republicans routinely win about 40% of the vote.
New York Democrats attempted an aggressive gerrymander in 2022, only to have it struck down by courts, but the episode highlighted ongoing partisan map-drawing in left-wing strongholds.
Overall, both parties have a history of manipulating districts for gain, with gerrymandering often canceling out nationally but distorting representation at the state level.
In response to the Republican surge, California Democrats have placed Proposition 50 on the November 2025 ballot, a measure that would authorize temporary congressional map changes through 2030 to counter moves in Texas and other red states.
The proposition, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Democratic Party, directs the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt legislatively influenced boundaries, potentially putting five Republican-held seats at risk in districts currently represented by figures like Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia.
With Republicans controlling more state legislatures than Democrats, the GOP appears positioned to net additional House seats through these maneuvers.
Democrats, who fell short in 2024, need to net just three seats to reclaim the House majority in 2026, making every district adjustment critical.
The Senate remains a tougher climb for Democrats, who must defend incumbents in red-leaning states while targeting GOP vulnerabilities.
U.S. Rep. Don Davis, a North Carolina Democrat, blasted the plan as “beyond the pale” in a statement, accusing Republicans of undermining fair elections as his 1st District faces elimination under the new map.
Trump, however, hailed the North Carolina map on social media, calling it a win for “putting America First.” State House Speaker Destin Hall echoed the sentiment by reposting Trump’s message, adding, “We’re putting America First in NC!”
As legal challenges mount and the redistricting arms race intensifies, the 2026 midterms could hinge on these behind-the-scenes battles over district lines, testing the resilience of America’s electoral system.
Georgia Man Arrested For Threatening Trump’s Life
A 29-year-old man from Rome, Georgia, was arrested following an alleged social media tirade threatening to kill President Donald Trump.
The suspect, Jauan Rashun Porter, reportedly joined a TikTok livestream on July 26 discussing the Trump administration’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility for undocumented immigrants, where he allegedly posted a comment threatening the president’s life.
“So there’s only one way to make America great and that is putting a bullet in between Trump’s eyes,” Porter posted, according to a Justice Dept. press release. The DOJ added that similar remarks were made over several minutes.
“I’m gonna kill Donald Trump. I’m gonna put a 7.62 bullet inside his forehead,” Porter allegedly continued. “I’m gonna watch him bleed out and I’m gonna watch him die. I’m gonna do that.”
Following his remarks, other livestream participants raised the specter of Porter being visited by federal agents, leading him to respond: “I’m gonna kill them too.”
According to the government, Porter’s remarks appeared to be more than just empty threats. According to the DOJ, Secret Service agents, along with local and state police, discovered two pipes, pistol ammunition, and Tannerite—an explosive—during a search of Porter’s apartment.
“Porter has prior convictions for terroristic threats, influencing a witness, mutiny in a penal institution, drug possession, battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and domestic violence. He is currently on probation,” said the Justice Dept. release.
The suspect was charged with making threats against the President and is scheduled for a detention hearing on August 12.
“The allegations against Porter are serious and required a swift, decisive, and collaborative response,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in the release. “We do not tolerate threats against public officials or law enforcement officers, and Porter will now face the consequences of his actions.”
Porter’s alleged threats come a little more than a year after President Trump, then on the campaign trail in Butler, Pa., was nearly assassinated by a sniper who had managed to get on top of a building a short distance away.
A few minutes into Trump’s speech, he was seen quicky grabbing his ear and ducking behind the podium as several shots rang out. The first bullet knicked Trump’s right ear, while other rounds killed one man, Corey Comperatore and seriously wounded fellow attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
The shooter, Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper team.
Weeks later, while Trump was golfing at one of his Florida courses, another alleged would-be assassin was found hiding in the bushes armed with a rifle near a green as the former and future president approached.
Secret Service agents fired upon the suspect before fleeing the scene, but was later apprehended by police in Martin County.
Last week, a federal judge inexplicably allowed the Justice Department to keep key evidence in the second Trump assassination attempt under wraps, citing potential “exceptionally grave damages” to U.S. national security.
The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon stems from a DOJ motion to block the release of classified materials in the case of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf course in September 2024.
Routh has not been permitted to view the classified evidence. He wasn’t even allowed to see the DOJ’s motion or attend the secret hearing related to it, according to reports.
Cannon did not elaborate in her ruling, stating only that disclosure of the materials “could cause serious damage or exceptionally grave damages to the national security of the United States.”
The classified evidence may be tied to Routh’s 2022 trip to Ukraine, where he attempted to recruit fighters to join the U.S. proxy war against Russia. In a 2023 self-published book, Routh claimed his “best partner” in Ukraine was an Israeli.
The DOJ later accused him of trying to purchase a rocket launcher from a purported Ukrainian as part of his alleged plot.t
