Shawn Griffiths
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, co-chaired by Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), announced this week the formation of a new Gerrymandering Working Group that is focused on settling the most combustible fight in American politics right now: Gerrymandering.
This comes after 17 states have either redrawn or formally tried to redraw congressional districts in the last two years, while 8 have actually implemented new maps: California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah (court ordered).
Two developments happened in the mid-cycle gerrymandering fight in this week alone and while the primary election season is already underway.
Alabama asked the US Supreme Court to allow a new Republican-drawn congressional map after a federal panel blocked it, finding the map likely involved racial discrimination.
At the same time, South Carolina Republicans rejected a late redistricting push after pressure to redraw lines before the midterms, with lawmakers citing concerns about a rushed and opaque process.
The Problem Solvers Caucus says its new working group will be focused on reforming the redistricting process that has allowed politicians in both parties to turn congressional maps into partisan weapons before voters even cast a ballot.
Traditionally, states redraw congressional districts once every 10 years after the census. But the National Conference of State Legislatures notes that, within the last year, states have undertaken mid-decade redistricting “at rates not seen since the 1800s.”
The working group will be evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, with 5 members from each party. It includes Reps:
- Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.)
- Ed Case (D-Ill.)
- Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.)
- Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)
- Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)
- Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.)
- Darren Soto (D-Fla.)
- Ryan Mackenzie (R-Penn.)
- Donald Norcross (D-N.J.)
- Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.)
The group’s stated goal is to identify reforms that restore public trust, encourage fairer representation, and reduce the partisan incentives that continue to make the competition and accountability crisis in the US worse.
“Gerrymandering turns the system upside down,” Fitzpatrick said. “It lets politicians choose their voters, divides communities for political advantage, and makes too many elections less competitive before a single ballot is cast.”
“We are bringing both parties together to end the race to the bottom, restore accountability, and put power back where it belongs—with the voters.”
Suozzi tied the issue directly to polarization, arguing that gerrymandering creates safe seats that push politicians to cater to low-turnout primary electorates instead of broader general-election voters.
“Gerrymandering rigs general elections, dilutes the will of the voters, carves up communities with shared interests, and incentivizes polarization instead of collaboration,” he said.
This point is especially relevant for independent voters.
Gerrymandering is often discussed as a fight between Democrats and Republicans. However, the people most boxed out by manipulated maps are voters who do not fit neatly into either party’s base.
When districts are engineered to protect one party, the real election moves to party primaries, where turnout is lower, party activists have more power, and independent voters are frequently excluded (or sidelined).
In other words, the combination of partisan primaries and gerrymandering does not just rig outcomes—It rigs incentives.
Lawmakers in safe seats have less reason to appeal to the political middle, less reason to compromise, and less reason to be accountable to voters outside their party’s most reliable base.
"For too long, partisan gerrymandering has allowed political parties to draw district lines that serve their own interests rather than the American people's," said US Rep. Salud Carbajal, representing California’s 24th Congressional District.
"This kind of political brinkmanship is unsustainable and damaging to our democracy. That is why I am helping launch the Problem Solvers Caucus Gerrymandering Working Group to reform the redistricting process and restore trust in our elections."
The hard part is whether Congress can do anything about it since the Constitution extends authority over the “time, place, and manner” of elections to the states. This is why each state has its own redistricting process.
US Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y), one of the Republican members of the new working group, introduced the FAIR MAP Act earlier this year to create national standards for congressional redistricting, including guardrails against mid-decade map manipulation.
However, the Problem Solvers Caucus has not committed the working group to any specific bill. Instead, it frames the issue as one that requires bipartisan action rather than another round of partisan retaliation.
Both parties increasingly justify gerrymandering by pointing to the other side’s actions. The whole thing has turned into a blame game of “they started it.”
Republicans say Democrats rig maps where they control the process. Democrats say they cannot unilaterally disarm while Republicans draw aggressive maps in red states. The result is a political arms race in which voters are told the “other side” has to be stopped.
The Problem Solvers working group does not mean Congress has suddenly found religion on fair maps. However, it further raises awareness about how the current electoral system—and how it is structured—shifts incentives away from representation.
The incentives are now so broken that even some members that operate within the system and have even benefited from it are acknowledging the damage. The question is whether that acknowledgment turns into reform — or is just talk.