Redistricting and race.

Democrats are beside themselves, watching what Republicans are doing on redistricting — especially in the South.

«What we’re seeing is an attack on legitimate opportunities for Black candidates to have representation here in Congress,» said Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., who is on track to lose his district in Mobile.

Democrats say they know what Republicans are up to.

«They’ve also been trying to eliminate teaching America’s history, right? Whitewashing America’s history,» said former Vice President Kamala Harris.

BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES

States like Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama – and now Georgia and South Carolina are redrawing district maps for House Members. That’s after Missouri revamped its maps. Many of these new districts are squeezing out members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

In essence, Democrats see this as a «Southern Strategy» by the GOP, stamping out Black lawmakers.

«It’s about race,» said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the  top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.

«I feel like I’ve been assaulted,» said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.

«We’ve seen this before,» said Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

«We’re looking at losing possibly 19 members of the Congressional Black Caucus because of this frankly racist redistricting efforts targeted towards disenfranchising Black voters across the country,» said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. 

Republicans say turnabout is fair play. They note that you can’t find a Republican anywhere in the six states which comprise New England.

«It’s out of whack. It’s out of balance. And I think Republicans are finally waking up given the legal landscape changes and going, ‘Well, maybe we need to reconsider the way that we do things in our state,’» said Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C.

South Carolina initially balked at drawing new maps. But the Palmetto State reversed course after President Trump demanded the state «get it done.» He instructed South Carolina Republicans to be «bold and courageous.»

Don’t forget that GOP Indiana state senators faced the President’s ire after the Hoosier State rejected his entreaties for redistricting there. The Trump White House waged an internecine campaign. President Trump’s allies toppled five Republican state senators who crossed him.

So South Carolina snapped to attention.

«The people of South Carolina are very supportive of President Donald Trump,» said Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). «They understand perfectly that we’re in a conflict. A nationwide conflict.»

New maps in South Carolina could mean no Democrats in the state delegation. That could eliminate the district of former House Majority Whip and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. Clyburn first came to Capitol Hill in 1993. He’s widely regarded for salvaging the 2020 campaign of former President Biden, helping him ride to victory in the South Carolina primary.

Still, Democrats believe they can seize the House, even as Republicans try to squeeze the map through redistricting.

«There are 45 districts in play that we’ve identified as opportunities to flip in this upcoming midterm election,» said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Democrats believe they’ll run up the scoreboard in California. Pluck off a couple of Republicans in Arizona and Colorado. Maybe one in Utah. Take a few in Texas after redistricting there. Make a play for a seat in Montana. Win a seat or two in Pennsylvania. Claim two seats in Virginia – despite the Virginia Supreme Court ruling there. Pick up a couple of seats in New Jersey and New York.

Remember that Democrats just need a net gain of three seats to secure the House majority.

However, that «blue wall» might not hold in all of New England this time around.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is retiring. He’s one of the most moderate Democrats in Congress. Vice President JD Vance just traveled to Bangor, Maine, recently to talk about fraud – and boost the campaign prospects of former Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

LePage is running to succeed Golden. Republicans are bullish about their chances in northern Maine.

REPUBLICAN ‘WAKE-UP CALL’: SPECIAL ELECTION SHOCKER HIGHLIGHTS GOP TURNOUT AND MIDTERM RISKS

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a «New York is Not For Sale» rally at Forest Hills Stadium on Oct. 26, 2025. (Stephani Spindel/VIEWpress via Getty Images)

LePage will be 78 if he wins – the oldest freshman in congressional history. However, this is ironic. Maine’s Democrat Gov. Janet Mills was running for Senate – but bowed out. Some Democrats believed she was too old. Mills would have been 79 as a freshman senator had she stayed in the race and prevailed.

But back to what faces the Democrats.

Democrats are trying to find their footing after the double whammy of the Supreme Court Voting Rights Act decision and the Virginia Supreme Court rejecting the statewide redistricting referendum. House Democrats huddled to discuss their battle plan.

«I’m more energized now than ever to make sure that we’re in the field, that we’re doing the work and whatever it has to take to win,» said Meeks.

«We’re going to win,» said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). That’s the House Democrats’ political arm.

«Democrats are prepared to use whatever levers we can to influence the outcome of the election,» said Thompson.

Some of this sounded a little like political pablum with no real direction.

Yours truly pressed Thompson.

«Respectfully, this all sounds kind of vague. You guys have a five-alarm fire now after those two court decisions, and I’m not hearing any specifics,» I countered Thompson.

«Well, you just stay tuned,» countered Thompson.

«How does that convince the voters, though?» your trusty reporter queried.

«Look,» said Thompson. «We are two weeks away from a crazy Supreme Court decision. You can’t expect anyone to come with a strategy right now.»

Two weeks after the decision which could hamstring Democrats’ chances to win the House? Never mind that the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year and oral arguments were in the fall. Democrats understood the gravity of this case and how it could chew into any plan to flip the House in the midterms.

Democrats are banking on Republicans overplaying their redistricting hands. But how Democrats energize their base wasn’t immediately clear after their conclave on the subject.

«The American public gets to make this decision. That’s a great thing about American democracy. And we’re working,» said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.

REDISTRICTING BATTLES BREWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS PARTIES COMPETE FOR POWER AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

President Donald Trump speaks during a military Mother’s Day event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 6, 2026. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But «working» doesn’t necessarily garner votes. It would be «news» if the Democrats weren’t working on the issue.

«That doesn’t sound like much of a concrete plan, though, Mr. Morelle?» yours truly interjected.

«I am not going to share my concrete plan with you,» replied Morelle.

A group of northern Democrats – ranging from Ocasio-Cortez to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., headed to Montgomery, Ala., over the weekend to make the case against the GOP’s redistricting ploys.

«We shall overcome,» intoned Booker. 

Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, is now imploring Black student-athletes who attend school in the South to enter the transfer portal and play instead in the North.

Yet another way to pit the Big Ten against the SEC.

Rallying in the South may rile up Black voters. But it won’t help Democrats take back the House if all they’re doing is driving up voter participation in districts Democrats can’t win – thanks to the redrawing of the boundaries.

However, if Democrats do succeed in getting people to the polls – yet the playing field is tilted against them – we could be in for an econometric anomaly this fall.

It was a presidential election year in 2012. Democrats failed to win control of the House after losing it in a 2010 midterm shellacking. With President Obama on the ballot, Democrats secured nearly 1.6 million more votes than Republicans in House races nationwide in 2012. Yet Democrats failed to win the House.

Republicans won control of the House from the Democrats in 1994 for the first time in four decades. But with President Clinton handily riding to a second term in 1996, Democrats still struggled to win back the House. Democrats outpaced Republicans in the popular vote for the House that year by nearly 300,000 votes nationally. 

Democrats have redrawn lines in their favor in California. But Republicans appear to have superseded that with their lines in the South. It’s a distinct possibility that Democrats could command more popular votes for House seats nationwide – and not get back the House. This statistical phenomenon is even more glaring that the party with the most popular votes fails to control the House in a midterm – not a presidential election year when a sitting executive is returned to the White House in the cases of Presidents Clinton and Obama.

That’s why some Democrats believe they should have been even more aggressive with redistricting.

Maryland is a case study. The Democratically-controlled state took a pass.

«I believe that we had an opportunity to do that. I supported it, and I still believe that would have been the right course for us to take,» said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md. «These are extraordinary times And I think we should take extraordinary measures to protect the opportunity to have those votes counted.»

Maryland would have made the entire state blue, drawing out of his seat Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

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Democrats see the GOP tactics as an existential political threat. President Trump commanded about one-fifth of Black male voters in 2024. And that’s why Democrats are framing this fight around civil rights.

It’s a race about redistricting. But Democrats also see this as a race – about race.

A corporate exodus is reshaping America’s business landscape — and deep-blue states are paying the price.

The stakes go far beyond bragging rights. Corporate headquarters bring high-paying jobs, investment and tax revenue; they also boost local economies and political influence.

According to a report by CBRE, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerage firms, 725 companies relocated their headquarters between 2018 and 2025. And the trend was clear — businesses increasingly left high-tax, heavily regulated Democrat-led states like California and New York for Republican states offering lower costs, lighter regulation and faster growth, like Texas and Florida.

AMERICANS KEEP MOVING TO TEXAS AND FLORIDA — BUT ONE OTHER RED STATE IS GROWING EVEN FASTER

And as companies increasingly relocate to Republican-led states, politicians in blue states are facing growing scrutiny over whether progressive tax-and-regulation policies are driving employers away, weakening growth and eroding the tax bases of some of America’s longtime economic powerhouses.

The frequency of relocations accelerated in 2025, outpacing 2024 levels as companies looked beyond traditional coastal hubs for expansion opportunities. CBRE found the number of firms citing «growth opportunity» as the primary reason for relocating jumped nearly 47% from a year earlier.

Texas emerged as the biggest winner in the battle for corporate America.

Executives continue to reassess operating costs, tax burdens and workforce growth prospects while deciding where to invest for the future — and many landed on cities throughout the Lone Star State.

Dallas-Fort Worth captured more than any metro area in the country with 111 headquarters relocations between 2018 and 2025. Austin secured another 88 and Houston added 31 in that same seven-year span.

GOV. ABBOTT EXTENDS OFF-RAMP FOR NY BILLIONAIRES FLEEING MAMDANI’S POLICIES

Taken together, those three Texas markets accounted for more headquarters gains than many states in their entirety.

Florida, especially Miami, has also emerged as a major beneficiary of the corporate relocation wave. Over the past year, six companies moved operations to Miami from high-cost hubs including Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Boston, drawn by Florida’s lower taxes, growing tech scene and access to East Coast markets.

Companies told CBRE that Miami’s fast-growing startup culture and expanding pool of finance and tech talent make it an increasingly attractive destination, while international firms are also flocking to South Florida for its strong travel, tourism and beauty industries.

Meanwhile, deep blue California experienced the steepest losses.

CALIFORNIA’S LOOMING CAPITAL FLIGHT PROBLEM COULD RESHAPE STATE IN 3 KEY AREAS

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously said that he does not support the «billionaire tax» measure. The measure would levy a one-time 5% wealth tax on residents with more than $1 billion in assets, including unrealized gains. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The San Francisco Bay Area posted a net loss of 163 headquarters over the same period Texas saw its gains, according to the report.

CBRE said companies leaving California metros frequently cited high taxes, labor regulations and rising cost-of-living pressures as key reasons for relocating elsewhere.

MAMDANI’S RISE IN NYC MIRRORS ECONOMIC FLIGHT TO THE SOUTH, STUDY SHOWS

While traditional business powerhouses like New York and Chicago remain deeply entrenched in corporate America, there’s a broader debate over whether legacy cities can continue holding onto top employers and investment.

The New York City metro-area, which includes Newark and Jersey City, saw the second-highest number of departures with nine headquarters leaving for other states from 2024 to 2025. And the debate over increasingly progressive policies in the city has led to threats of more departures.

Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who relocated his hedge fund from Chicago to Miami in 2022, has repeatedly warned that rising taxes, crime and anti-business policies could drive more companies away from cities like Chicago and New York.

New York remains the nation’s largest corporate hub, home to 114 Fortune 1000 headquarters. The recent moves represent only a small slice of the region’s business base and resulted in a loss of about 5,200 jobs.

CHICAGO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KEN GRIFFIN TURNS ON A CITY — NOW MAMDANI MAY FIND OUT

The Citadel founder is clashing with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over taxes targeting the ultra-wealthy and intensifying crime, reviving the same tensions that drove him to pull his business and billions out of Chicago. (Spencer Platt/Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The migration patterns are becoming increasingly politically significant.

Economic performance frequently shapes midterm messaging, and corporate relocations are poised to feature prominently in debates over tax competitiveness, regulation and the broader business climate.

The issue is drawing even more attention as Democrats in several blue states push billionaire taxes and other progressive policies that critics warn could drive more companies and wealthy residents out.

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Whether the trend endures remains uncertain.

But for now, the corporate migration is reinforcing a broader reality: Taxes, regulation and cost of living are no longer secondary political issues. They are increasingly determining where businesses invest, where jobs move and which states gain — or lose — economic power.

La Misión Especial de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA) ha manifestado su reconocimiento a la asunción de Gabriel Estuardo García Luna como Fiscal General de la República y Jefe del Ministerio Público de Guatemala para el período 2026–2030, en coincidencia con la fecha establecida para el relevo institucional.

Según el comunicado divulgado la mañana de este lunes y citado por la propia OEA, el organismo subraya que las primeras acciones del nuevo liderazgo serán decisivas para ratificar la independencia institucional, la legalidad constitucional y la confianza de la ciudadanía en el Ministerio Público.

La Misión de la OEA enfatizó que entre las prioridades de la nueva administración deben figurar medidas concretas y observables: una transición ordenada dentro del Ministerio Público, la protección de las trayectorias profesionales en la carrera fiscal, el afianzamiento técnico de las investigaciones, la cooperación respetuosa con los demás poderes del Estado y la implementación de criterios transparentes que aseguren que la persecución penal se ejerza sin presiones indebidas ni sesgo político.

En el documento, la entidad internacional identificó un reto específico para García Luna: abordar, desde el apego a la legalidad y el pleno respeto al debido proceso, las inquietudes que sectores nacionales e internacionales han planteado respecto del uso inapropiado del sistema penal para la criminalización de ciertos actores y la garantía de impunidad para otros.

El comunicado destaca que una respuesta institucional efectiva a estos temas marcará la orientación del Ministerio Público y pondrá a prueba su compromiso con la defensa de los derechos humanos.

Las primeras semanas tras la toma de posesión se consideran cruciales para analizar si el Ministerio Público logra consolidar el equilibrio entre la independencia fiscal y la colaboración con otros poderes estatales, sin ceder ante presiones externas.

La OEA remarcó la necesidad de que todos los actores políticos, sociales, económicos e institucionales contribuyan de forma responsable al fortalecimiento democrático y se abstengan de intervenciones o represalias que puedan incidir en la autonomía del ejercicio fiscal.

El comunicado concluyó informando que la Misión Especial de la OEA mantendrá la observación sobre el proceso de gestión de García Luna, acorde con su mandato de acompañamiento técnico y atención al desarrollo de la institucionalidad democrática en el país.

La toma de posesión de Gabriel Estuardo García Luna como máximo responsable del Ministerio Público guatemalteco el lunes marca el inicio de una etapa en la que, a juicio de la OEA, el foco estará en la capacidad de la Fiscalía para garantizar investigaciones técnicas, una transición interna sin sobresaltos y el respeto de los principios constitucionales.

El organismo instó, desde su visión, a que la transición no solo sea formal, sino que se plasme en acciones verificables, como la adopción de estándares que aseguren la objetividad en la persecución penal y eliminen cualquier posibilidad de que factores políticos distorsionen la función fiscal.

La OEA recordó, en su comunicado, que el éxito del Ministerio Público bajo la gestión de García Luna será evaluado según el impacto real de las medidas que tome para fortalecer la independencia y el profesionalismo, así como por la capacidad de responder de manera efectiva a las denuncias sobre uso indebido del sistema penal, un aspecto que permanece bajo vigilancia de la comunidad internacional.

En su primer mensaje como Fiscal General de la República y Jefe del Ministerio Público de Guatemala, Gabriel Estuardo García Luna asumió el cargo, marcando el inicio de una nueva etapa para la justicia penal del país. El funcionario dirigió un discurso a la nación en el que afirmó que su gestión representará una oportunidad para devolver la dignidad a la institución y recuperar la confianza ciudadana a través de hechos concretos y una dirección basada en la honestidad y la objetividad.

Fue categórico al rechazar el uso político de la institución. “La ley es pareja o no es ley. No puede ser utilizando el Ministerio Público dentro de un régimen democrático y republicano como un arma al servicio de ningún grupo, por lo que debe de cesar cualquier persecución selectiva”. Enfatizó que tampoco debe obedecer órdenes de ninguna clase. “Bajo esa convicción vamos a trabajar”.