Kentucky’s U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said more congressional redistricting could lead to political violence across the country.
The process of redrawing district boundaries to determine how many representatives there are in Congress — and who puts them there mid-decade per a push from President Donald Trump and his opponents — is a mistake that, at its worst, may disenfranchise voters and lead to violence, Paul said.
“I’m concerned if there are no representatives, like no Republican representatives in California or no Democrats in Texas, that it will be so thoroughly one-sided that people will feel like their vote isn’t counting,” Paul said Sunday morning in an interview on NBC. “And so, I think it’s a mistake. But I’m not saying it’s a mistake of the Republicans, I’m saying it’s a mistake of both parties.”
Paul said it’s possible redistricting in Republican-held Kentucky could look like carving up the area around Louisville in the 3rd Congressional District to rid the state of its sole Democrat, Rep. Morgan McGarvey.
“But how does that make the Democrats feel?” Paul said. “It makes them feel like they’re not represented.”
Paul said both sides are using redistricting in an attempt to support their party’s interests and power and he doesn’t expect Democrats or Republicans to sit idly by while the other draws new boundaries.
“I do think this, and this is on the negative aspect of both parties doing this,” Paul said. “I think that it’s going to lead to more civil tension and possibly more violence in our country.”
Kentucky’s map as it exists over-represents Republicans in its 5-1 Congressional delegation. There are 1,584,000 registered Republicans in the state and 1,389,000 Democrats, with a growing number of Independents and third-party registrants.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in McGarvey’s district 314,000 to 170,000 and outnumber the GOP in Rep. Andy Barr’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Fayette County, 243,000 to 240,000.
Kentucky voters have largely favored Republicans in recent elections, picking Trump by 30 points, 26 points then 30 points again in his past three presidential runs. Those same voters have also picked Republicans to represent them in the U.S. Senate by about 20 points in the past two cycles.
Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has been an exception, beating out former Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019 and then hitting a five-point victory over former Attorney General Daniel Cameron in 2023.
Trump has pushed for redistricting as he attempts to maintain Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of elections in 2026.
In California and Utah, approved redistricting plans favor Democrats while similarly green-lit plans in Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas favor Republicans.
Paul’s comments come just days after Indiana lawmakers voted against Trump’s redistricting plan for the state that would have benefitted Republicans.
Kentucky’s congressional map has not yet been a target of the president. It was last redrawn — to much controversy — in 2022 following the 2020 Census. And though it is also a Republican legislature, Kentucky seems unlikely to join a handful of other states in pushing for redistricting to benefit the GOP U.S. House majority.
“We haven’t talked about that at all,” Kentucky House GOP Whip Jason Nemes told the Herald-Leader in August. “It’s been discussed around the country, but not here.”
Dustin Isaacs, a spokesperson for Senate Republican leadership, and Laura Leigh Goins, a spokesperson for GOP state House leadership, said in statements legislators were focused on spending next year’s General Assembly crafting the next two-year budget.
Also on NBC Sunday, Paul talked about regime change in Venezuela, health care and antisemitism following a mass shooting in Australia that targeted a first day of Hanukkah celebration.