Fascinating account of how Democrats ended up drawing a 7-1, rather than a 8-0, congressional map in Maryland.

But two Democratic members within the delegation were uncomfortable pursuing this most aggressive path. They were Baltimore-area members who came from different perspectives, but arrived at the same end. . . .

Sarbanes is also the lead sponsor of the For the People Act, or H.R. 1, which includes as a central plank an end to partisan gerrymandering and a national move to independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions. As a national crusader against gerrymandering, he couldn’t bring himself to go full 8–0, several Democratic sources said. When asked about his concerns over an 8–0 map, Sarbanes’ spokesperson offered a neutral statement from the representative. . . .

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, in his second stint in Congress after succeeding the late Rep. Elijah Cummings last year, was more public with his doubts. Going to an all-Democratic delegation “in a state where we’ve got one-third of the voters who are in fact Republicans, I don’t know how you sell something like that,” he said in a November radio interview. “I think that’s an overreach. For me that’s a bridge too far.” . . .

But aside from the poor optics, Mfume was concerned that absorbing chunks of largely white Republican voters into his district from Harris’ would distract from his representation of majority-minority communities in Baltimore. He was adamant against suggested changes, like stretching his district north to the Pennsylvania border.