Latest news with #Republican-drawn
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to toss state's congressional boundaries
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic voters on Thursday asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state's current congressional district boundaries after a similar request was rejected last year. Republicans currently hold six of the state's eight U.S. House seats — but only two of those districts are considered competitive. The petition seeks to have the state's congressional district lines redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterms. Filed on Wednesday and made public Thursday, the petition comes from the Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and also filed last year's request. The new petition argues that the court's decision to redraw maps for state legislative districts a couple years ago has opened the door to revisiting maps for U.S. House districts. The petition asks for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, skipping lower courts. The chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Brian Schimming, called the lawsuit "a desperate attempt by far-left Democrats who have shown time and time again that they can't win without rigged maps.' But Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who criticized the state Supreme Court for not hearing the lawsuit last year, praised the new effort. 'The residents of Wisconsin deserve fair maps,' Pocan said in a text message. 'Hopefully this will provide that.' The court is controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford won an April election to ensure the court will remain under a 4-3 liberal majority until at least 2028. Redistricting was an issue in that race after Crawford spoke at a virtual event billed as a 'chance to put two more House seats in play,' a move that Republicans said shows that Crawford is committed to redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. Crawford denied those allegations. The court in 2023 ordered new maps for the state Legislature, saying the Republican-drawn ones were unconstitutional. The GOP-controlled Legislature, out of fear that the court would order maps even more unfavorable to Republicans, passed ones drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Democrats made gains in the state Legislature in the November election and are hoping to take majority control in 2026. When ordering the state legislative maps redrawn, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the earlier conservative-controlled court was wrong in 2021 to say that maps drawn that year should have as little change as possible from the maps that were in place at the time. The latest lawsuit argues that decision warranted replacing the congressional district maps that were drawn under the 'least change' requirement. In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Democrats are eyeing two congressional seats for possible flipping in 2026. Western Wisconsin's 3rd District is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who won an open seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired, and won reelection in 2024. Southeastern Wisconsin's 1st District, held by Republican Rep. Bryan Steil since 2019, was made more competitive under the latest maps but still favors Republicans. The current congressional maps in Wisconsin, drawn by Evers, were approved by the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block them from taking effect.
08-05-2025
- Politics
Democrats ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to toss state's congressional boundaries
MADISON, Wis. -- Democratic voters on Thursday asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state's current congressional district boundaries after a similar request was rejected last year. Republicans currently hold six of the state's eight U.S. House seats — but only two of those districts are considered competitive. The petition seeks to have the state's congressional district lines redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterms. Filed on Wednesday and made public Thursday, the petition comes from the Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and also filed last year's request. The new petition argues that the court's decision to redraw maps for state legislative districts a couple years ago has opened the door to revisiting maps for U.S. House districts. The petition asks for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, skipping lower courts. The chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Brian Schimming, called the lawsuit "a desperate attempt by far-left Democrats who have shown time and time again that they can't win without rigged maps.' But Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who criticized the state Supreme Court for not hearing the lawsuit last year, praised the new effort. 'The residents of Wisconsin deserve fair maps,' Pocan said in a text message. 'Hopefully this will provide that.' The court is controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford won an April election to ensure the court will remain under a 4-3 liberal majority until at least 2028. Redistricting was an issue in that race after Crawford spoke at a virtual event billed as a 'chance to put two more House seats in play,' a move that Republicans said shows that Crawford is committed to redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. Crawford denied those allegations. The court in 2023 ordered new maps for the state Legislature, saying the Republican-drawn ones were unconstitutional. The GOP-controlled Legislature, out of fear that the court would order maps even more unfavorable to Republicans, passed ones drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Democrats made gains in the state Legislature in the November election and are hoping to take majority control in 2026. When ordering the state legislative maps redrawn, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the earlier conservative-controlled court was wrong in 2021 to say that maps drawn that year should have as little change as possible from the maps that were in place at the time. The latest lawsuit argues that decision warranted replacing the congressional district maps that were drawn under the 'least change' requirement. In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Democrats are eyeing two congressional seats for possible flipping in 2026. Western Wisconsin's 3rd District is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who won an open seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired, and won reelection in 2024. Southeastern Wisconsin's 1st District, held by Republican Rep. Bryan Steil since 2019, was made more competitive under the latest maps but still favors Republicans. The current congressional maps in Wisconsin, drawn by Evers, were approved by the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 them from taking effect.
San Francisco Chronicle
08-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Democrats ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to toss state's congressional boundaries
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic voters on Thursday asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state's current congressional district boundaries after a similar request was rejected last year. Republicans currently hold six of the state's eight U.S. House seats — but only two of those districts are considered competitive. The petition seeks to have the state's congressional district lines redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterms. Filed on Wednesday and made public Thursday, the petition comes from the Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and also filed last year's request. The new petition argues that the court's decision to redraw maps for state legislative districts a couple years ago has opened the door to revisiting maps for U.S. House districts. The petition asks for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, skipping lower courts. The chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Brian Schimming, called the lawsuit "a desperate attempt by far-left Democrats who have shown time and time again that they can't win without rigged maps.' But Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who criticized the state Supreme Court for not hearing the lawsuit last year, praised the new effort. 'The residents of Wisconsin deserve fair maps,' Pocan said in a text message. 'Hopefully this will provide that.' The court is controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford won an April election to ensure the court will remain under a 4-3 liberal majority until at least 2028. Redistricting was an issue in that race after Crawford spoke at a virtual event billed as a 'chance to put two more House seats in play,' a move that Republicans said shows that Crawford is committed to redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. Crawford denied those allegations. The court in 2023 ordered new maps for the state Legislature, saying the Republican-drawn ones were unconstitutional. The GOP-controlled Legislature, out of fear that the court would order maps even more unfavorable to Republicans, passed ones drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Democrats made gains in the state Legislature in the November election and are hoping to take majority control in 2026. When ordering the state legislative maps redrawn, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the earlier conservative-controlled court was wrong in 2021 to say that maps drawn that year should have as little change as possible from the maps that were in place at the time. The latest lawsuit argues that decision warranted replacing the congressional district maps that were drawn under the 'least change' requirement. In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Democrats are eyeing two congressional seats for possible flipping in 2026. Western Wisconsin's 3rd District is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who won an open seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired, and won reelection in 2024. The current congressional maps in Wisconsin, drawn by Evers, were approved by the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block them from taking effect.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Democrats ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to toss state's congressional boundaries
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic voters on Thursday asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state's current congressional district boundaries after a similar request was rejected last year. Republicans currently hold six of the state's eight U.S. House seats — but only two of those districts are considered competitive. The petition seeks to have the state's congressional district lines redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterms. Filed on Wednesday and made public Thursday, the petition comes from the Elias Law Group, which represents Democratic groups and candidates and also filed last year's request. The new petition argues that the court's decision to redraw maps for state legislative districts a couple years ago has opened the door to revisiting maps for U.S. House districts. The petition asks for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, skipping lower courts. Spokespeople for the Wisconsin Republican Party and the National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans to Congress, had no immediate comment. But Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who criticized the state Supreme Court for not hearing the lawsuit last year, praised the new effort. 'The residents of Wisconsin deserve fair maps,' Pocan said in a text message. 'Hopefully this will provide that.' The court is controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford won an April election to ensure the court will remain under a 4-3 liberal majority until at least 2028. Redistricting was an issue in that race after Crawford spoke at a virtual event billed as a 'chance to put two more House seats in play,' a move that Republicans said shows that Crawford is committed to redrawing congressional districts to benefit Democrats. Crawford denied those allegations. The court in 2023 ordered new maps for the state Legislature, saying the Republican-drawn ones were unconstitutional. The GOP-controlled Legislature, out of fear that the court would order maps even more unfavorable to Republicans, passed ones drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Democrats made gains in the state Legislature in the November election and are hoping to take majority control in 2026. When ordering the state legislative maps redrawn, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said the earlier conservative-controlled court was wrong in 2021 to say that maps drawn that year should have as little change as possible from the maps that were in place at the time. The latest lawsuit argues that decision warranted replacing the congressional district maps that were drawn under the 'least change' requirement. In 2010, the year before Republicans redrew the congressional maps, Democrats held five seats compared with three for Republicans. Democrats are eyeing two congressional seats for possible flipping in 2026. Western Wisconsin's 3rd District is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who won an open seat in 2022 after longtime Democratic Rep. Ron Kind retired, and won reelection in 2024. Southeastern Wisconsin's 1st District, held by Republican Rep. Bryan Steil since 2019, was made more competitive under the latest maps but still favors Republicans. The current congressional maps in Wisconsin, drawn by Evers, were approved by the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in March 2022 declined to block them from taking effect.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Might Cost GOP More Than Just Wisconsin Supreme Court
The shocking results of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election may have far-reaching effects on the U.S. House of Representatives. In the state election Tuesday, Judge Susan Crawford beat Judge Brad Schimel, cementing a 4–3 liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Crawford's win could have a significant impact on efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Crawford's victory gives Democrats the opportunity to challenge Wisconsin's congressional maps, and Republicans seem to know it. Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden told CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju Tuesday that if Crawford won, he and Representative Bryan Steil would surely lose their seats as a result of redistricting. 'We both lose,' he said. 'So that's why everyone's paying attention to this on a national level.' Van Orden's concerns about his seat aren't unwarranted. In 2023, Wisconsin's Supreme Court found that the state's Republican-drawn state Assembly and Senate maps were unconstitutional. The justices determined the earlier conservative-controlled court had been wrong to say that new maps should be required to have the 'least change' possible from the already established maps. The redrawn maps saw Democrats gain 14 seats in the state Assembly and Senate. The Elias Group, a Democratic law firm, then challenged Wisconsin's congressional maps using the same argument, that the maps drawn up in 2021 were designed to make the 'least changes' to Republican-approved maps from 2011. While the liberal-majority court denied the firm's bid, Crawford's presence may give Democrats another shot to challenge the 'least change' requirement and redraw the maps. Republicans have amassed six out of the state's eight U.S. House seats, despite holding thin margins in statewide races. Van Orden and Steil both won their reelection bids in November, but since representatives serve just two years at a time, they will both be vulnerable to being unseated in the 2026 midterm elections. Earlier this week, Elon Musk, who spent millions backing Schimel in the Supreme Court race, told Fox News that Crawford's win could not only cost Republicans their majority in the House, which currently sits at a narrow split of 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats, but it could also spell trouble for Donald Trump. 'Losing this judge race has a good chance of causing Republicans to lose control of the House. If you lose control of the House, there will be nonstop impeachment hearings. There will be nonstop hearings and subpoenas,' Musk warned. Now Musk's worst nightmare has come true.
