Democrats looking to keep up with the GOP’s push to redraw House lines are grappling with how to circumvent the same independent redistricting commissions they once championed.

The movement to set up nonpartisan commissions for redistricting caught steam over the last decade, with Democrats at the forefront of the movement. Many in the party argued the commissions were essential to ensuring fair elections at a time when gerrymandering has led to fewer and fewer competitive contests on the federal level.

But as Republicans barrel forth with their efforts to create friendlier maps in multiple states in the hopes of holding onto their slim House majority next year, many Democrats now see the commissions as a hindrance and argue the party needs to go around them. Doing so, however, could prove challenging.

“Just look at the math. Nationally, if we do tit-for-tat, we’re going to lose,” said California Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio. “Other states will do this, and then we’ll be further in the hole.”

State legislatures and governors had been each state's arbiters of redistricting throughout most of U.S. history, with partisans ultimately deciding how the lines would be drawn, often favoring their own side.

That started to change in some states, particularly during the 2000s and 2010s, as leaders were interested in the idea of good governance on the issue, emphasizing transparency and fairness. Voters approved referenda to create bipartisan or nonpartisan commissions to create maps that are intended to fully represent different groups’ political power.

But an issue that some expressed concern about when the commissions were being set up will likely come into play as states take a look at redrawing their congressional lines ahead of next year’s midterms, a move that is uncommon but not prohibited.

Most states that have implemented these commissions are Democratic-leaning, while their Republican counterparts mostly kept their state legislatures fully in charge of the process.

The states with independent commissions at least playing a role in redistricting include California and New York, two of the three largest in the country, while the only fully Republican-led........

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