Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Republicans\u2019 redistricting push is on ice in New Hampshire, in a blow to the White House\u2019s aggressive effort to protect the GOP\u2019s House majority in the midterms.<\/p>\n
State Sen. Dan Innis has yanked his own bill that would have kicked off a mid-decade redraw of the state\u2019s two congressional districts in the face of resistance from GOP Gov. Kelly Ayotte.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe governor wasn\u2019t that supportive of it since it\u2019s in the middle of the normal redistricting cycle,\u201d Innis, a Republican who recently ended his U.S. Senate campaign, told POLITICO. \u201cRather than create a difficult situation in my own house, the New Hampshire State House, I thought it made sense to save this for another time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Innis\u2019 decision to withdraw his bill deals the White House another setback in its pressure campaign to strong-arm GOP-led states into redistricting. Indiana Senate Republican leadership said this week that they lack the votes to pass<\/a> a mid-cycle redraw in the Hoosier State, though Gov. Mike Braun is still eyeing a special session to redo the state\u2019s maps. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about New Hampshire.<\/p>\n The White House had been ratcheting up pressure on New Hampshire Republicans to put forward a new map for months, threatening a take-no-prisoners approach<\/a> that included weighing a primary challenge to Ayotte<\/a>. Trump ally and longtime New Hampshire resident Corey Lewandowski, who is serving as a Department of Homeland Security senior adviser, said days later he was considering running for governor<\/a> against Ayotte.<\/p>\n There is some interest among Granite State Republican lawmakers in remapping, because New Hampshire has been using a court-approved congressional map since then-Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, vetoed plans the Legislature sent him in 2022. Democrats need to net three seats in next year\u2019s midterms in order to win back control of the House, and the Trump team was hoping to secure one seat in a New Hampshire redraw.<\/p>\n Both of the districts are currently represented by Democrats, although the state\u2019s open 1st District will likely be a battleground next November even without new lines.<\/p>\n State lawmakers say they would want buy-in from Ayotte, who isn\u2019t budging.<\/p>\n The first-term governor has repeatedly rejected the idea of a mid-decade redraw, saying the \u201ctiming is off\u201d and insisting the Trump team\u2019s pressure tactics wouldn\u2019t change her mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in the middle of the census, I don\u2019t think the timing is right for redistricting,\u201d Ayotte recently told local television station WMUR<\/a>, adding that \u201cthe thing [Granite Staters are] talking to me about is not redistricting.\u201d<\/p>\n