Overview

• At the first Joint Committee hearing, Democrats unveiled a proposal targeting eight Republican-leaning and seven Democratic-leaning U.S. House districts, while Republicans offered no map.
• Republican leaders said a bipartisan map will not be passed by the Sept. 30 legislative deadline and signaled another hearing will be held next week.
• Under state law, the process shifts to the Ohio Redistricting Commission after Sept. 30, and if it fails by Oct. 31, lawmakers can pass a simple-majority map by Nov. 30 that would last four years.
• The parties clashed over what constitutes a fair map, with Democrats citing a roughly 55% Republican statewide vote average over a decade and Republicans pointing to winning 22 of 23 statewide races.
• Republicans currently hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 U.S. House seats and five of seven seats on the commission, and observers say the map outcome could influence control of the U.S. House in 2026.