3 minutes ago by DAVID A. LIEB, OLIVIA DIAZ and MARK SCOLFORO The Associated Press

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FILE - The William McKinley Monument is silhouetted in front of the west side of the Ohio Statehouse, April 15, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

An Ohio panel adopted new U.S. House districts on Friday that could boost the GOP’s chances of winning two additional seats in next year’s elections and aid President Donald Trump’s efforts to hold on to a slim congressional majority.

The action by the Ohio Redistricting Commission came as Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of the 2026 congressional elections. That measure needs another round of legislative approval early next year before it can go to voters.

Trump has been urging Republican-led states to reshape their U.S. House districts in an attempt to win more seats. But unlike in other states, Ohio’s redistricting was required by the state constitution because the current districts were adopted after the 2020 census without bipartisan support.

Ohio joins Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, where Republican lawmakers already have revised congressional districts.

Democrats have been pushing back. California voters are deciding Tuesday on a redistricting plan passed by the Democratic-led Legislature.

The political parties are in an intense battle, because Democrats need to gain just three seats in next year’s election to win control of the House and gain the power to impede Trump’s agenda.

In a rare bit of bipartisanship, Ohio’s new map won support from all five Republicans and both Democrats on the redistricting panel. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee praised the Ohio Democrats “for negotiating to prevent an even more egregious gerrymander” benefiting Republicans.

Republicans hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 congressional seats. The new map could boost their chances in already competitive districts currently held by Democratic Reps. Greg Landsman in Cincinnati and Marcy Kaptur near Toledo. Kaptur won a 22nd term last year by about 2,400 votes, or less than 1 percentage point, in a district carried by Trump. Landsman won reelection with more than 54% of the vote.

National Democrats said they expect to hold both targeted districts and compete to flip three other Republican seats.

Ohio’s commission had faced a Friday deadline to adopt a new map, or the task would have fallen to the GOP-led Legislature, which could have crafted districts even more favorable to Republicans. Any redistricting bill passed by the Legislature could have been subject to an initiative petition campaign from opponents forcing a public referendum on the new map.

That uncertainty provided commissioners of both parties with some incentive for compromise. House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, a Democratic commissioner, said the deal “averts the disaster that was coming our way” with a potential 13-2 map favoring Republicans. And Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, another commissioner, said it avoided a costly battle over a referendum that could have delayed the state’s primaries.

But Ohio residents who testified to commissioners Friday denounced the new districts. Julia Cattaneo, whose shirt proclaimed, “gerrymandering is cheating,” said the new map is gerrymandered for Republicans more than the one it is replacing and is not the sort of compromise needed.

“Yes, you are compromising – your integrity, honor, duty and to represent Ohioans,” she said.

Added resident Scott Sibley: “This map is an affront to democracy, and you should all – every one of you – be ashamed.”

Information for this article was contributed by John Hanna and Isabella Volmert of The Associated Press.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, attends a special legislative session in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

Republican gubernatorial candidate and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears resides over the Virginia Senate during a special legislative session in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)

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