OLYMPIA, WA – Democratic lawmakers in Washington state on Tuesday pre-filed legislation for mid-decade congressional redistricting. The proposal is part of a broader national trend of a surge in efforts to redraw maps outside the typical post-census cycle.
House Joint Resolution 4209, sponsored by House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-West Seattle, and state Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state Legislature to conduct congressional redistricting between decennial censuses.
The resolution would authorize the state to redraw its congressional district maps in the middle of the 10-year cycle, deviating from the current practice of redistricting only after the federal census every 10 years.
Per HJR 4209, if the state constitution is amended, the Legislature could adjust the congressional map with a simple majority vote in each chamber if another state engages in mid-decade redistricting for reasons other than a court order.
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, responded to the redistricting proposal via X on Wednesday morning.
“They want to change the state constitution to gerrymander away remaining Republican seats in WA,” Couture posted, referencing that only two Republicans represent Washington state in Congress.
With a high-stakes battle for the 2026 midterms looming, the Evergreen State appears poised to join the trend of states using congressional redistricting for partisan advantage. U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, and U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, are the only two Republicans who represent Washington state in Congress, compared to 10 Democrats, including both senators.
The Center Square was unable to immediately reach Baumgartner for comment on Wednesday.
Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, who chairs the Washington State Republican Party, said amending the state constitution shouldn’t be trivial like HJR 4209, calling it “bad” policy and “hyperpartisan.” He thinks the idea is a “tit-for-tat” response to President Donald Trump’s call for redistricting in Texas.
“It doesn’t do any good for anybody in Washington; it doesn’t do any good for any voter. It doesn’t assure any voter of a stronger voice. It’s hyperpartisan,” Walsh told The Center Square, “designed to warp concepts like fair and balanced and equal into a partisan pretzel that favors the Democrat party.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, announced on Wednesday that he’s planning to call a special session on redistricting in Florida for April. Republicans there are looking to redraw the Sunshine State’s congressional map.
“Voters deserve free and fair elections and an equal voice in Congress. Early partisan redistricting in other states stacks the deck nationally, diluting Washington’s representation before our voters ever weigh in,” Mena wrote in a Wednesday press release. “This legislation defends an independent process and ensures power remains with the people — not partisan mapmakers.”
Walsh thinks that if HJR 4209 were to pass, costly lawsuits would follow the loss of Republican districts.
In order for the constitutional amendment to pass, a two-thirds majority in each chamber must vote for HJR 4209. Democrats hold strong majorities in the House and Senate, but are just a few seats shy of a two-thirds majority in both, meaning HJR 4209 would require a few Republican votes as well.
“WA Democrats have filed a constitutional amendment (apparently) as a signaling piece of legislation to show what they plan to do if they should get a ⅔ majority in the Legislature in the 2026 election,” the Conservative Ladies of America’s Washington state chapter posted to X on Wednesday morning.
The Center Square contacted House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle for comment and will update the story with their perspectives as they respond.
Washington’s 60-day legislative session starts on Jan. 12.
Reporter Tim Clouser contributed to this updated story.
