Maryland's GOP governor begs Biden to sue his state over gerrymandering

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Larry Hogan says GOP must move on after Trump-era losses; slams Maryland Dems for gerrymandering, big spending.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan discussed the future of the Republican Party and his battles with Democrats in Maryland in an interview with Fox News Digital.

The governor of Maryland is asking President Biden's Department of Justice (DOJ) to help him in his crusade – against his own state.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to file a lawsuit against Maryland in order to combat what the governor sees as "far more egregious civil-rights violations than in Texas," claiming that its Democratic-controlled legislature violated the Voting Rights Act with its newly drawn congressional districts.

The fight over Maryland's gerrymander comes after the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Texas over its newly drawn congressional districts, arguing that the Republican-controlled legislature's new map violates the Voting Rights Act by disenfranchising minority voters.

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"In announcing the Texas lawsuit, Mr. Garland argued that ‘a core principle of our democracy is that voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,’" Hogan wrote in a Friday column. "He’s right. The attorney general should sue Maryland, too."

Attorney General Merrick Garland steps away from the podium after speaking at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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Hogan has been vocal in his disapproval of the new map, claiming that the redrawn lines are egregiously gerrymandered. However, as a Republican governor in a largely Democrat-controlled state, he has been powerless to protest the legislature's new electoral map after his veto was overruled.

"The congressional map drawn in back rooms by party bosses in Annapolis makes a mockery of our democracy, and it is an embarrassment to all that our state stands for," Hogan said in a Dec. 9 statement. "On behalf of all the people of Maryland who value fairness and integrity in our elections and in our political system, I am vetoing these disgracefully gerrymandered, illegal maps, which are a shameful violation of state and federal law."

The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (Reuters/Gary Cameron)

In his Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Hogan elaborated on a specific practice that he feels is the source for much of the map manipulation, saying, "These gerrymandered maps diminish minority representation by combining them with distant rural and suburban areas, a practice called 'cracking.'"

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Hogan concluded that the Biden administration should be obligated to investigate gerrymandering and redistricting abuse in both liberal and conservative states. Otherwise, the governor warns, the president risks sacrificing integrity.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R., sent liberals into a tizzy on Thursday when he referred to the Washington Football Team by its original name, the Redskins. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)

"Mr. Garland and the Biden administration can live up to their rhetoric by holding both parties accountable for discriminatory gerrymandering—or it can politicize the Justice Department by holding red states and blue states to different standards."

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.