WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has urged Republican legislatures to take the rare step of redrawing congressional election maps halfway through the traditional 10-year cycle, launching a gerrymandering arms race that has spread to state capitols across America.

The fight started in Texas, but now Republican-run states of Florida, Indiana, Ohio and maybe Missouri also are gearing up to redraw election maps and send more GOP members to the House. In response, Democrats launched their own mid-cycle redistricting efforts in states like California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey and Colorado.

But Louisiana will sit out the scrum for the time being while the state litigates its redistricting before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“To the best of my knowledge, there are no plans to cal

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