Copyright Baltimore Sun
The decision by Maryland’s Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson to reject a redistricting proposal supported by House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Gov. Wes Moore was an act of political bravery. In August, I wrote a piece for The Baltimore Sun about why redistricting was bad for America and why it wasn’t needed for Democrats to regain control of Congress. I was worried that Maryland’s Democratic leaders would succumb to short-sighted calculations and political pressure to advance a plan that removed the last Republican from our state’s congressional delegation. By appointing a commission to study redistricting, that’s exactly what Moore did. Ferguson made a different choice and articulated the practical and moral case against redistricting, and then held his ground. His actions are a local reminder of something that’s important to remember nationally: Loud voices in the Democratic Party are embracing an extreme position on political gerrymandering, describing it as a justified response to Republican redistricting. A different group of Democrats is setting a better example. Ferguson didn’t present his decision in terms of the ongoing debate among Democrats between the left and the center, but his decision embraced an important part of the centrist mentality. It held out hope that American politics can change, and that layering bad decisions by Democrats on top of bad decisions by Republicans doesn’t make anything better. In 2018, Democrats flipped 40 seats when they took control of Congress. Even if Republican redistricting plans work as President Donald Trump intends, Democrats don’t need to embrace redistricting to win. With a congressional majority and their credibility intact, Democrats can marshal support from the 67% of Americans who prefer districts that aren’t gerrymandered and address the practice through federal legislation. In Rucho v. Common Cause, the Supreme Court in 2019 suggested that Congress has the power to regulate partisan districting. Rather than embrace what they know is wrong, this is a better way for Democrats to proceed. Bill Ferguson will almost certainly face political consequences for his principled stand against gerrymandering, and it’s been a tough run nationally for centrists as politics has become a competition between MAGA and the Zohran Mamdani wing of the Democratic Party. Attention may be focused on the extremes, but moderates are the answer to solving our nation’s problems. MAGA and Mamdani can’t create the consensus we need to escape the discord defining our politics. Electing centrists requires Americans to believe that centrist victories are possible. The political environment will look different if Trump’s policies fail to deliver the golden age he promised and some of his voters stay home in 2026 and 2028 when the president isn’t on the ballot. If ICE raids and No Kings marches mix with an underperforming economy and rising prices, Americans will be ready for a change. Republican primary voters may even find their way to supporting a more traditional candidate. Larry Hogan’s easy victory in Maryland’s 2024 Republican primary for U.S. Senate and Spencer Cox’s governorship in Utah prove the old Republican Party isn’t gone. On the left, the Mamdani wing feels ascendant, aided by the 66% approval rating that Democrats give socialism. That level of support is a condemnation of our system’s inability to produce results for struggling workers more than it’s a commitment to a political ideology. The centrist wing of the Democratic Party can still convince voters that its moderate policies can win elections and improve their lives. Republicans should turn away from MAGA, and Democrats should chart a course away from socialism. Socialism is a loser in general elections and throws out too much of what’s good in our system as it tries to fix what isn’t working. The energy being generated by democratic socialists is noticeable but still pales in comparison to what centrists are accomplishing. Governors like Josh Shapiro and Andy Beshear are popular and winning contested elections in states that are difficult for Democrats. No democratic socialist can say the same. In New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, Rebecca Bennett is leading the Democratic field in fundraising without embracing socialism and by talking comfortably about her religious faith and military service. Along with governors-elect Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, it’s centrists like these who make Democrats a national party. Against a weak field, Mamdani only won about 50% of New York City voters. If a democratic socialist can only win half the vote in one of the nation’s most liberal cities, embracing socialism is a sure way for Democrats to lose nationally. Rahm Emanuel is another centrist Democrat offering an alternative to the left wing of the party. His willingness to admit in the Wall Street Journal that Democrats kept schools closed for too long during COVID was a welcome dose of humility when most politicians refuse to admit their party is capable of mistakes. Emanuel represents a segment of the Democratic Party that believes in accountability, not the part that unconditionally supports teachers unions even as test scores fall and too many of our public schools fail. His version of the Democratic Party acknowledges the tragic loss of an innocent woman on a train in North Carolina before it rationalizes the circumstances of the man who killed her. Emanuel’s Democratic Party supports policies that offer a helping hand but honor the idea of personal responsibility and provide people with tools rather than trying to guarantee outcomes. Emanuel may be a centrist, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a fighter. The idea that the far left is the only part of the Democratic Party capable of taking on MAGA is wrong. Nearly a year into President Trump’s second term, Democrats want a candidate with strength, but they shouldn’t be fooled by tough talk and large crowds. The Mamdani wing is taking the path of least resistance by promising policies that are hard to deliver. Centrists like Shapiro, Beshear, Bennett and Emanuel are the ones showing real fortitude by refusing to embrace this easy path. Bill Ferguson did the same in Maryland when he took an honorable and practical stand against redistricting. If Democrats want leaders capable of standing up to MAGA, they should support candidates who can withstand pressure from their own party and share hard truths with voters. That’s real strength. Coupled with centrist policies, it’s that type of honesty and fortitude that stands the best chance of returning Democrats to power.
