The Maryland House of Delegates continued to push a new map of congressional districts, even as the state Senate shows no interest .

A House committee voted to advance the new set of districts Tuesday night, setting up the map for a debate by the full House this week.

The only votes against came from Republican lawmakers.

The vote came after more than four hours of testimony, including a plea from Gov. Wes Moore to redraw the map to help Democrats counter Republican President Donald Trump.

“It is imperative that Maryland do its part to ensure that Congress is able to function as a meaningful check on the executive branch,” the Democratic governor said during remarks at the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee.

What that looks like in Maryland is redrawing boundaries to give Democrats a good chance of winning all eight seats the state has in the U.S. House of Representatives — potentially ousting Republican Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

Proponents of redrawing the boundaries now, instead of waiting for the next census as is customary, argue that Maryland needs to respond to Trump-inspired redistricting in other states that has benefitted Republicans.

“We’re not here in this position because we choose to be ... We’re here because our current president and current administration are desperate to rig this election,” said Del. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat and sponsor of the new maps.

The committee’s vote was predictable, perhaps evidenced by the half-empty, low-energy hearing room.

Still, that didn’t deter dozens of people from testifying on the bill, many of them via video.

At the outset of the hearing, committee chair Del. Anne Healey, a Prince George’s County Democrat, said more than 200 people had signed up to speak. But many were no-shows, leaving only about 70 people who weighed in.

The testimony was split, but leaned in favor of residents in support of the bill. Many of them offered a variation of the argument that Maryland should “fight fire with fire” and redistrict now, even if it might otherwise be undesirable.

Opponents largely said that redrawing the boundaries now represent a naked power-grab by Democrats. Multiple people suggested that “two wrongs don’t make a right.”

Opponents and Republican delegates alike pointed out what they see as flaws in the proposed map, such as grouping Howard County’s suburban community of Columbia in the same 1st Congressional District as small Eastern Shore towns.

“Do they have chicken houses in Columbia?” Eastern Shore Republican Del. Jefferson Ghrist posited at one point, referencing a major Shore industry.

Republican lawmakers also questioned why Cecil County in the northeastern corner of the state should be moved from an Eastern Shore-based congressional district to one in the Baltimore suburbs, as is proposed in the new map.

And Del. Kathy Szeliga, a Baltimore County Republican, asked questions in an attempt to establish a record of facts for a “potential lawsuit.”

The proposed map now moves to the full House of Delegates for consideration, where has good odds of passage by the end of this week or early next week.

But it’s still likely to hit a wall in the state Senate, where Senate President Bill Ferguson remains opposed, saying redistricting is legally and politically risky for Democrats. Ferguson said the majority of Democratic senators agree with him.

“I don’t think much has changed since our initial analysis,” Ferguson said of the House bill, which added a referendum on whether the new maps will be used for the two cycles following 2026.

Ferguson noted that deadlines are coming up quickly for candidates to file for office, and given likely legal challenges, “we’re well past the window of opportunity of doing anything.”

Banner reporters Lee O. Sanderlin and Brenda Wintrode contributed to this article.