Two Pennsylvania Republicans facing tough reelection fights next year have thrown their support behind a bipartisan effort to rewrite the rules of congressional redistricting nationwide. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mackenzie joined other members of the House Problem Solvers Caucus in Washington, D.C., to unveil a package of reforms aimed at curbing the kind of mid-decade map redraws that have upended House races across the country this cycle.
The caucus, co-chaired by Fitzpatrick and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., announced the package on Wednesday, according to The Washington Times. The proposals would ban most mid-decade redistricting, require compact and contiguous districts, protect communities of interest, and encourage states to adopt independent commissions. As WHYY reports, Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie are both Pennsylvania Republicans facing close reelection races in swing districts this fall.
One proposal would establish a uniform federal process with consistent jurisdiction and venue for congressional redistricting challenges and provide expedited federal review. Jeff Hurd and Rep. Ed Case were working-group co-leads. A companion measure would set national standards for districts covering equal population, connectedness, compactness and the protection of existing political boundaries.
A Nationwide Rule Aimed at the Census Cycle
A third bill would let congressional maps be redrawn only once a decade, following the census. A fourth would encourage states to adopt independent redistricting commissions. The caucus first floated the broader framework in July 2026, according to WHYY, and the Los Angeles Times reported that the rules would not take effect until 2032, timed to the redistricting cycle following the 2030 census.
It remains unclear whether the caucus has set a timetable for formally introducing legislation built on that framework. The Well News reported that no such timetable had been announced as of its coverage.
Why the Push Now
Mackenzie said any anti-gerrymandering push requires bipartisanship to succeed, and argued that congressional districts should represent communities rather than benefit individual politicians or parties, according to WHYY. Fitzpatrick, who first won his seat in 2016 and joined the newly formed Problem Solvers Caucus during his first term before becoming co-chair in 2021, has said gerrymandering lowers voter turnout and breeds extremism, and that more competitive elections can boost turnout. He has described high voter turnout as “kryptonite for extremism,” per the same report.
Supporters of the bills argue that partisan gerrymandering has produced an overwhelming number of safe congressional seats, making many representatives more vulnerable to primary challenges than to general-election defeat and giving them less incentive to work across party lines, according to WHYY. That argument tracks with broader data: the Los Angeles Times has reported that only 18 of the 435 U.S. House districts are considered toss-ups, with another 20 leaning toward one party — leaving fewer than one-tenth of all House seats even somewhat competitive. Rep. Mike Lawler is also a member of the caucus, according to the Washington Times.
A Cross-Country Redistricting Fight
The bipartisan proposal lands amid an unusually active mid-decade redistricting cycle. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott approved a new congressional map in August 2025 designed to give Republicans a chance to gain five House seats, according to WHYY, and other Republican-led states — including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Utah — followed Texas in pursuing their own mid-decade redraws. Democratic-led states retaliated in kind, though New York and Virginia saw their redistricting efforts quashed by the courts, per the same report.
The New York Times has reported that Republicans hold a razor-thin House majority as both parties fight over map lines ahead of the midterms. The Times account notes that Texas Democrats staged a two-week walkout before the state's new map passed, and that the U.S. Supreme Court later upheld it in December. California answered with its own map, which the Supreme Court upheld in February after Republicans challenged it as favoring Latino voters, the Times reported. Tennessee's Republican supermajority went further, repealing its own ban on mid-decade redistricting before passing a new map in early May that split the state's only Democratic congressional district into three, according to the same source.
Elsewhere, WBAL-TV reported that eight states had enacted new congressional maps mid-decade, six favoring Republicans and two favoring Democrats, with the fight potentially netting the GOP as many as eight additional House seats before the midterms. Indiana, Maryland, New York, Washington and South Carolina also attempted mid-decade redistricting, though South Carolina's state Senate rejected the effort, per the WBAL-TV report. Florida, Indiana and Virginia were separately taking steps to redraw their own maps ahead of 2026, according to The Hill, which also reported that Missouri Republicans passed a new House map dismantling Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's district to create one additional GOP pickup opportunity. The Deseret News also covered the broader redistricting debate.
Pennsylvania's Own History With Gerrymandering
Pennsylvania has its own history with contested maps. Congressional districts drawn by the state's Republican-led legislature in 2011 were challenged in court, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court annulled those maps in 2018, ruling that they clearly, plainly and palpably violated the state constitution, according to WHYY. Under the challenged map, Republicans had won 13 of Pennsylvania's 18 congressional districts, the outlet reported, and the U.S. Supreme Court later declined a Republican appeal seeking to overturn the state court's ruling.
The Political Backdrop for Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie
The redistricting push also plays out against the backdrop of Fitzpatrick's own reelection fight. His Democratic challenger, Bob Harvie, has said Fitzpatrick has not solved a major problem in ten years in Congress, and Democrats have argued that Fitzpatrick falls in line every time with President Donald Trump, according to WHYY. Fitzpatrick has disputed that characterization, saying he is ranked No. 1 as the most independent member on every scorecard and metric. Both Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie have spoken out against the recent battle over midterm redistricting as they and other caucus members push the four bills as a national fix.
