This week, heavily blue legislatures in Maryland and New Mexico went into special session to approve new congressional maps — but Democrats in Santa Fe are taking a more aggressive approach than their counterparts in Annapolis. In a win for Democrats, North Carolina's Supreme Court pushed back the state's primaries. Finally, California's citizen-led commission began the slow, painstaking process of tweaking its congressional drafts.

California

On December 7, California's 14-member Citizens' Redistricting Commission began painstaking, slow deliberations to overhaul its 52-seat initial draft, with the December 27 deadline to enact a final map looming. Working from south to north, the commission is making major moves. And although by statute commissioners are forbidden to take into account partisanship or incumbent data, their revisions will have substantial partisan repercussions.

In San Diego, the commission put GOP Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-50) and Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-53) back in safe seats after the initial draft made their districts more competitive. Issa's inland seat would be Trump +14, up from Trump +8 under the current lines.

But the biggest move so far may

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