President Donald Trump has called for Republican states to redraw their U.S. House districts ahead of next year's elections. Now a growing number of both Republican and Democratic states are entering the battle to gerrymander voting maps. Republican-led Ohio is the latest to approve new congressional districts. Democratic lawmakers in Virginia also have taken a step toward redistricting with a proposed constitutional amendment. Republican-led Indiana and Kansas could be next to consider it. Texas, Missouri and North Carolina already have redrawn districts. And California voters are deciding on a new House map. Democrats need to gain just three seats to take control of the House.

Climbing monthly electricity bills, a growing stressor on U.S. families as demand surges for energy, have emerged as a significant issue in the nation’s only two elections for governor this year and as a test on the political parties’ messages for next year’s midterms. Virginia and New Jersey are less than a week away from electing their next governors in campaigns being closely watched for signs of the electorate’s reaction to President Donald Trump’s second term as well as the Democrats’ effort to respond after their national defeat in 2024.

Mid-cycle congressional redistricting efforts could move forward Friday in two more states amid maneuvering to influence which party will control the U.S. House after next year’s midterm elections. A Republican-controlled Ohio commission is meeting to consider a proposed map that could give the GOP a chance at winning two more seats. Meanwhile, senators in the Democrat-led Virginia Legislature are expected to vote on advancing a proposed constitutional amendment that could eventually let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and gerrymander their map. President Donald Trump kicked off the redistricting fray this summer by urging Republican-led states to redraw voting districts before the midterms.

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Republican candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli speaks to supporters Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Spring Lake Heights, N.J.(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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FILE - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger speaks to members of the press on the first day of early voting in Henrico County, Sept. 19, 2025. (Mike Kropf /Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP, File)

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New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill listens to speakers during a campaign stop at a train station in Westfield, N.J., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)