Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat and potential 2028 presidential contender, is converting reelection advertising in the Washington, D.C. media market into messages urging voters to support a redistricting constitutional amendment. His team puts the redirected buy at roughly $700,000 to $750,000, with the spots reaching Maryland's D.C. suburbs. Moore frames the measure as a way to push back against President Donald Trump, who touched off a national midcycle redistricting fight.
Maryland voters will settle Question 3 on November 3, 2026. If approved, the amendment would clarify that the state constitution's requirements that districts be compact and respect natural and political boundaries apply only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones, clearing the way for the General Assembly to redraw congressional maps. Early voting begins October 22. In the governor's race, a UMBC Institute of Politics poll released October 6 showed Moore leading Republican Dan Cox 51% to 24%.
A September 22 polling memo found nearly half of voters opposed to the amendment, with 21% "definitely against" versus 11% "definitely for," and 31% undecided. Moore and top state Democrats argue redistricting is needed to counter Republican map-drawing elsewhere. Democrats currently hold seven of Maryland's eight U.S. House seats; Rep. Andy Harris, representing the Eastern Shore-based 1st District, is the lone Republican. A successful amendment could let Democrats dismantle Harris's district and potentially reach an 8-0 delegation.
Truth for Maryland PAC, formed this week, spent a multi-six-figure sum on ads urging voters to "vote yes for Wes and against Question 3." The spot uses photographs of Moore on the trail in colors and fonts resembling his campaign, and claims Question 3 would give politicians "unchecked power," end "fair elections," and permanently take away voters' voices, adding that "Governor Moore fights for every Marylander, and we're doing the same." Moore's campaign says the PAC is misusing the governor's name and likeness to mislead voters.
Moore's campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter through the Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock law firm, accusing the PAC of violating Maryland's election-misinformation law and referring it to the State Board of Elections. The campaign also launched its own pro-Question 3 spot with a $700,000 buy in the D.C. market, featuring Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Steny Hoyer, and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, each framing a yes vote as standing up to Trump. Protect Maryland Votes spokesman Doug Mayer called the opposing PAC's ad "obviously brilliant," saying it captures both the issue and the other side's "hypocrisy and never-ending lies."
Question 3's outcome will determine whether Maryland lawmakers can unilaterally redraw congressional districts, shaping representation beyond the 2026 midterms. Either way, the ad war has fused the governor's reelection with the fight over congressional seats, pulling Maryland into the national midcycle redistricting battle.