VP JD Vance Urges GOP States to Escalate Redistricting Battle

Vice President JD Vance is pressing Republican-controlled states to adopt more aggressive redistricting strategies, arguing that Democrats have long benefited from congressional maps that count undocumented immigrants and from what he calls major statistical errors in the 2020 census. In an interview aired Sunday on Fox News, Vance said California and other blue states receive an inflated share of House seats because they “welcome illegal aliens,” while Republican-leaning states were undercounted. Vance contended that a fresh population count would shift 10 seats to Republicans and remove nine from Democrats, a swing he described as critical to restoring balance in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pointing to a pending map redraw in Texas that could add as many as five GOP seats, he urged red-state legislators to take “decisive action” and “play offense” to counter what he characterized as decades of Democratic gerrymandering. The comments underscore rising partisan tension over congressional boundaries as the 2026 midterm cycle approaches and federal courts continue to weigh challenges to existing maps.