Former president Donald Trump and his allies are urging Republican-controlled states to reopen their congressional maps before the 2026 midterm elections, arguing that mid-decade redistricting could secure several additional GOP seats. Activists such as Wade Miller have called for republishing the 2020 census and compelling states to use that data, contending that Obama-era officials skewed population counts in favor of Democratic-leaning cities. The initiative has exposed a widening split inside the party. While Trump-aligned conservatives say redrawing districts is essential to protect rural representation, some Republican senators and strategists warn the maneuver risks alienating suburban and swing voters. Recent focus-group research suggests the plan could backfire among independents who view aggressive gerrymandering as partisan overreach. Academic experts note that the current U.S. House map is close to politically neutral. Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a redistricting scholar at Harvard Law School, estimates that a coordinated GOP effort—led by Texas—could net roughly half a dozen seats, forcing Democrats to win the national House vote by 2–3 percentage points to claim a majority. He cautions that such gains could trigger legal challenges and revive calls for federal standards, including independent commissions and limits on mid-decade map changes.