When Gov. Wes Moore sat down to testify to a House of Delegates committee last week about his proposal to further shape the state’s congressional districts in favor of Democrats, he made an impassioned argument on the basis of race.

Maryland has to redraw its congressional map to combat efforts by President Donald Trump and Republicans to “silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership” by redistricting red states to disfavor Democrats, Moore said.

The governor has tried a few redistricting arguments these last five months — he’s said the state needs maps that are fair; the state needs maps that are representative; voters actually want Maryland to redistrict; this is in defense of American democracy — but in recent days he’s increasingly focused on race.

“Make no mistake: What the president of the United States is doing is political redlining,” Moore told committee members, referring to racially discriminatory lending and insurance practices that originated in Baltimore.

As the only Black governor in the country, and only the third ever elected, Moore is uniquely positioned to weigh in on the topic. But it is unclear whether his proposed redistricting plan would do much, if anything, to change the racial composition of Maryland’s congressional delegation.

The proposal does not create any additional majority-Black or majority-nonwhite districts. Instead, the state would go from four majority-nonwhite districts to three, according to a Banner analysis of each proposed district’s voting-age populations.

The proposed map would shift the 8th District, currently mostly in Montgomery County, from 53% nonwhite to about 42% nonwhite, stretching from the District of Columbia to Carroll County’s Pennsylvania border. That district is already represented by Jamie Raskin, who is white.

Whether Maryland keeps the current map or adopts the proposed one, the state is already likely to elect a third Black member to the U.S. House later this year. Rep. Steny Hoyer, who is white, is retiring and the front-runners to succeed him are all Black — including Hoyer’s hand-picked replacement, his former campaign manager, state Del. Adrian Boafo. Rep. Kweisi Mfume in the 7th District and Rep. Glenn Ivey in the 4th District are the state’s two current Black members of Congress.

Even supporters of Moore’s plan have struggled to articulate exactly how the proposed map would combat political redlining.

“I would say it addresses it by continuing to flag that this is a national issue,” Del. David Moon, the majority leader in the House of Delegates and a Montgomery County Democrat, said Tuesday.

Moore’s social media has also been squishy on the subject.

On Facebook last week, the governor’s official account edited a post about redistricting to remove references to redlining and Black leadership, instead focusing on how his proposed map would “create more competition and accountability” and allow Marylanders to “elect candidates of their choosing, and more accurately reflect how they live.”

All of it is in support of a national Democratic push to counteract Republican gerrymandering with maps of their own. Two weeks ago, Moore went to the U.S. Capitol, where he met with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the issue. Other Democratic leaders, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have been successful in persuading their states to gerrymander.

Widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender, pushing through redistricting in Maryland could showcase Moore’s effectiveness — or lack thereof.

“The danger is in such a Democratic state, why can’t he get this done? If it doesn’t happen, is it going to weaken him nationally?” said David Lublin, chair of American University’s government department. “If he can’t do this in Maryland, people might say: ‘Where can you do it?’”

If Moore sees himself as someone with “presidential timber,” he needs to flex his persuasive abilities, Lublin said. The governor is halfway home: The House on Monday night voted almost entirely along party lines — there was one Democrat in opposition — to advance his redistricting plan.

Now it’s before the Senate, where it’s widely expected to stall and die. It’s possible Moore’s redlining rhetoric (his office declined to comment on the record for this article) is really intended for an audience of one: Senate President Bill Ferguson.

Ferguson, who is white, has been firmly opposed to the redistricting proposal since October. He’s weathered pressure from national Democratic figures, like Jeffries, to get on board, but the Baltimore Democrat has suggested it’s unlikely he will even allow the proposal to come up for a vote. As Senate president, Ferguson has broad control over proceedings in that chamber.

Among his many arguments for why Maryland shouldn’t redistrict, Ferguson has said recently that time has run out to enact a new map, with election-related deadlines looming and court challenges likely.

Moore, though, is unswayed. In his testimony before the House committee, he appeared to blast Ferguson for that very argument.

“For all those who are trying to move the goalposts, for all those who are looking for all the reasons why we should not respond instead of using your energy to find ways to respond, history will remember you worse,” Moore said.

But Ferguson, who represents South Baltimore, has other concerns beyond timing. In an email to supporters this week, he said Moore’s map would “dilute” the city’s political power and “weaken” its ability to advocate in Congress.

Right now, the majority of the city is in Mfume’s 7th District. The rest is in Rep. Johnny Olszewski’s 2nd District. The Moore proposal would cleave the city into three districts.

Under the proposal, the new 2nd District would be 14% Baltimore voters, while the the 3rd District would be 8%. The 7th District would have 54% of its voters from Baltimore compared to its current 72%. Urban neighborhoods would share a district with rural counties.

Fells Point, for example, would be in a district that includes swaths of Anne Arundel and Harford counties — “communities that could not be more different in need and lived experience,” Ferugson’s email to supporters read.

Asked about the proposed districts last week, Moore said he was open to legislative tweaks. He’s not married to what’s set forth in the proposed map, so long as whatever gets passed results in eight districts that decidedly favor Democrats. Which, put another way, means Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s lone Republican in Congress, wouldn’t be reelected.

All Moore really wants, he’s said, is for the Senate to vote.

Banner data reporter Allan James Vestal contributed to this article.