District

• Eine am Freitag veröffentlichte neue Umfrage von POLITICO‑Citrin Center‑Possibility Lab zeigt, dass deutliche Mehrheiten sowohl bei den Republikanern als auch bei den Demokraten eine unabhängige Kommission zur Festlegung der Wahlbezirksgrenzen für das US-Repräsentantenhaus befürworten, was die Argumente gegen ein Ende von parteiischem Gerrymandering entkräftet. • Die Trump-Administration prüft Vorschläge zur gesetzlichen Verankerung unabhängiger Gremien für das Redistricting, indem Bundesmittel an Bundesstaaten geknüpft werden, die solche Kommissionen einführen – eine Strategie, die Swing-Districts im Jahr 2026 und darüber hinaus neu gestalten könnte. • Bürgerrechtsgruppen und Wahlrechtsaktivisten begrüßten die Umfrageergebnisse und argumentierten, dass unabhängige Kommissionen die parteipolitische Manipulation von Karten verringern würden, die derzeit zugunsten beider Parteien verzerrt sind.

• Der Gouverneur von Louisiana, Jeff Landry, kündigte am 29. April 2026 Pläne zur Aussetzung der Vorwahlen zum Repräsentantenhaus an, nachdem ein Gerichtsurteil über Wahlbezirkskarten des Kongresses die Kämpfe um die Neugestaltung verschärft hatte. • Die Entscheidung resultiert aus anhaltenden Auseinandersetzungen über rassisches Gerrymandering, wobei Dutzende weitere Fälle vor den Midterms drohen. • Eine Aussetzung könnte Wahlen verzögern und die Strategien der GOP im Bundesstaat grundlegend verändern.

• Wähler in Virginia haben knapp einen von den Demokraten unterstützten Plan zur Neugestaltung der Kongresswahlbezirke genehmigt, der mehrere amtierende Republikaner gefährdet. • Die Maßnahme zieht die Wahlkreisgrenzen neu, um die Demokraten in Schlüsselbezirken zu begünstigen, was das Gleichgewicht für die Zwischenwahlen 2026 verschiebt. • Dieser Kampf um die Wahlkreisgrenzen an der Küste unterstreicht die nationalen Spannungen über faire Karten und parteipolitische Vorteile.

Special session comes after Virginia voted to redraw maps and as Trump pressures Republicans to protect House majorityFlorida begins a special session on Tuesday in what may be the last front of the redistricting war before the 2026 election, with Republicans trying to redraw maps to pick up more seats in Congress.Lawmakers enter the session in Tallahassee cloaked in mystery, with no preview of a proposed map to consider and no clear path for Republicans to increase their representation in what appears to be a hostile year for their party. Continue reading...

• House Republicans openly questioned President Donald Trump's mid-decade redistricting strategy on Wednesday, following a Democratic victory in Virginia on Tuesday that threatens the GOP's slim House majority. • The Virginia vote paves the way for as many as four Republican seats to be lost, intensifying GOP concerns about the redistricting war Trump sparked. • Republican lawmakers are now expressing misgivings about the strategy, signaling potential fractures within the party over Trump's aggressive electoral positioning ahead of the November midterms.

Democrats within reach of House majority after voters rebel against Republican gerrymanderingSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMonths into his second term, Donald Trump wagered that he could beat the historic trend of the party in power losing seats in midterm elections if Republican-led states redrew congressional maps to sweep Democrats out of office.The gamble is looking to be a bust, or at best a draw, for the president, after Democrats fought back with their own redistricting efforts, the latest of which came to fruition in Virginia on Tuesday, when voters approved a plan that could remove all but one of the five Republicans in its current House of Representatives delegation. Continue reading...

• The latest POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey reveals strong majorities in both parties favor an independent panel for drawing House district lines. • Over 70% of Democrats and Republicans support the nonpartisan approach to prevent gerrymandering ahead of midterms. • This consensus could pressure Congress to reform redistricting processes and reduce partisan map battles.

Purple state which recently elected a Democratic governor will now choose whether to replace existing voting maps with ones that favor DemocratsNearly three months to the day after his term as Virginia’s governor ended, Republican Glenn Youngkin stood in an unshaded corner of an office parking lot to warn dozens of conservative activists that they were in the midst of “the most important election” in the commonwealth’s 237-year history.The question before the voters casting ballots at an early voting precinct a few yards away in the city of Leesburg ahead of Tuesday’s special election was whether to temporarily set aside Virginia’s congressional maps intended to advantage neither party and replace them with a new version that could allow Democrats to win all but one seat in the 11-member delegation in the November midterm elections. Continue reading...

Officials grant Grade II* protection to ‘rare building that raises more questions than it answers’It is an elite list with some of the most significant and beautiful buildings and structures in England, including Battersea power station, Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge and the London Coliseum.Now the Grade II* landmarks are being joined by a mysterious, limestone rubble “barn” on a grassy knoll in the Lake District, which was most recently used as a shelter for sheep and cows. Continue reading...

• Republican Clay Fuller defeated Shan Harris in the Georgia 14th Congressional District special election runoff on Tuesday, securing 55.9% of the vote to 44.1%. • Fuller thanked President Trump for his support and plans to relaunch his campaign for a full two-year term in November. • The victory was expected in the heavily Republican district but was watched closely amid Trump's sagging approval ratings, rising gas prices, and concerns over the Iran war.

• Democrat Emily Gregory, a first-time fitness business owner, defeated Republican Jon Maples in a Florida State House special election for a district encompassing President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. • Maples was endorsed by Trump and aligned with his policies, yet Gregory flipped the seat previously won by 19 points by Republican Mike Caruso in 2024. • The stunning upset signals building Democratic momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms in Trump's backyard.

• Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election on March 24, 2026, flipping a solidly Republican Florida state legislative district that includes President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. • The victory serves as a warning sign for Republicans amid high gas prices driven by the Iran war, unprecedented airport security delays from a five-week partial government shutdown, and voter concerns over living costs and inflation. • President Trump rallied the GOP at the National Republican Congressional Committee's fundraising dinner on March 25 in Washington, promising 'bigger majorities' despite polling showing public disapproval of U.S. military action in Iran and weakening labor market.

Emily Gregory defeats Republican Jon Maples in district that is home to US president’s Palm Beach estateDemocrats managed to flip a seat in the Florida state house in the district that is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.Emily Gregory, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jon Maples, who had an endorsement from the US president. The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening. Continue reading...

Romantic poet’s Rydal Mount and Gardens, marketed for over £2.5m, will remain open under Wordsworth TrustIt was the family home where William Wordsworth hosted Alfred, Lord Tennyson, lived as poet laureate and worked on his epic autobiographical poem The Prelude.Now, after a long period of decline in visitor numbers, Rydal Mount and Gardens has been saved from descending into the “half-choked with willow flowers and weeds” state Wordsworth described in his 1814 poem The Excursion – and will be preserved by a charity that will ensure it remains open to the public. Continue reading...

Midwestern state has a slate of competitive races with money flowing in from donors including AipacSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxIllinois voters on Tuesday will decide between a crowded field of Democratic candidates vying to be the state’s next senator as the midwestern state also nominates candidates for five open congressional seats.Longtime Illinois senator Dick Durbin’s retirement leaves a competitive race that includes two US representatives and the lieutenant governor vying to replace him, with massive infusions of money coming to the candidates from outside groups, including donors affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), that are spending millions to sway voters. Continue reading...

An unidentified air strike targeted a house in Baghdad's Karrada district early Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding two others, according to Iraqi security officials and Iranian-backed group affiliates. The Iraqi military condemned the attack as a violation of humanitarian values and international conventions. This incident occurs as US Embassy in Baghdad faces repeated threats from Iran-aligned militias. Investigations continue to determine the strike's origin amid ongoing regional hostilities.