A Salamander, a Governor and a Redistricting Fight: The History of Gerrymandering

August 13, 2025 1

A political tactic originating in 1812 is at the center of a new fight for control of Congress.

Let us turn our attention, now, to 1812 Massachusetts, its governor, Elbridge Gerry, and a fight over state senate election districts.

Gerry – fun fact, he pronounced it with a hard “g” – attained immortality in American politics not because he signed the Declaration of Independence decades earlier or became vice president in 1813 but by signing into law a new political map deliberately drawn to help his Democratic-Republican Party and hurt Federalists.

The Boston Gazette printed a drawing of the districts, which we have reproduced above, including the especially odd one described at the time as looking like a salamander. Or a Gerry-mander. Which is where the modern term “gerrymander” comes from.

(Yes, I try to pronounce it “gary-mander” whenever possible. It’s one of the things that gets me shunned.)

1812, Meet 2025

Ensuing generations of politicians have decided Gerry was on to something with his map-based maneuvering. Most recently, President Donald Trump has demanded Texas redraw its districts to try to secure more Republican seats in the House of Representatives.

“We are entitled to five more seats,” the president has declared. Democrats are predictably up in arms. Redistricting generally occurs in the immediate aftermath of a census of the population, a counting of the population required by the Constitution.

Democrats in the Texas legislature have decamped to other states in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass their redistricting plan. It could cost them a fortune.

No one of note is pretending that the GOP approach is predicated on anything other than preserving the party’s razor-thin 219-212 House majority in the 2026 midterm elections, when things are expected to go sideways for the sitting president’s party. Four House seats are currently vacant.

How It Works, and Where

In many states, if a political party controls a state legislature and the governor’s office – or enjoys such a majority that it can override a veto – it can redraw political maps to its advantage.

Not all states assign the job of redistricting to legislatures. In quite a few, the job has been delegated to non-partisan, or bipartisan, commissions.

But legislatures control the process in most states, and they can typically do one of two things to bolster one party’s power:

Spread the other party’s voters across many districts, diluting their power and making it harder for that party to capture any one seat.
Pack the other party’s voters into a small number of districts – yes, this makes those districts almost certain wins for that party, but others will be competitive or swing to the majority party.

The Supreme Court has essentially washed its hands of legal fights over whether partisan gerrymandering is illegal. In a 2019 case about challenges to partisan redistricting in Maryland and North Carolina, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “The Constitution supplies no objective measure for assessing whether a districting map treats a political party fairly.”

Note: That’s not the same as cases of racial redistricting.

So, What Now?

Democrats have threatened to retaliate if Texas Republicans proceed. In places like California, for instance, it would be possible to draw maps that yield far larger numbers for the party.

Will state courts intervene? Will enough Republicans say they oppose this unusually timed redistricting that they derail the GOP drive? Will Texas Democrats tire of exile and return?

Your “gess” (hard “g”!) is as good as mine.

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2025-08-13/a-salamander-a-governor-and-a-redistricting-fight-the-history-of-gerrymandering

Written by: Joshua Stuart

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