ShortFormBlogredistricting Archives

Why’s Dennis Kucinich so happy? Because he’s found a new congressional district! His old Ohio seat was recently redistricted out of existence, but he’s found a potential new home in a redrawn district that includes his home city of Cleveland. There’s just one catch: Rep. Mary Kaptur, who also got the short end of the redistricting stick, wants to run in the same district (that’s the last time we’ll use the word “district” in this post). Kaptur, the longest-serving female Democrat in the house, isn’t looking forward to the primary. “We’re friends,” Kaptur said. “This is hard for us.” source

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

» Power to some people! It’s congressional redistricting time in California, which can play as big a role in the outcomes of elections as the candidates themselves. By way of a 2008 ballot initiative against gerrymandering, that power has put in the hands of fourteen citizens. Criticism has come quickly — Latino advocacy groups are saying that the influence of their voters will be diminished by the first drafts of the new map, and retiring congresswoman Lynn Woolsey complains that her once compact Marin County district would stretch more than 350 miles up the west coast. Principally, we object to gerrymandering; it’s an unpleasant underbelly of American politics. That said, subjective judgments that will tilt the balance of power are a necessity of the system, as there isn’t really such a thing as an objectively honest state district map. So, can you really avoid this problem just by bringing in ostensibly less political people? We’re not so sure.

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

Democratic communities and constituencies have grown in size in states like Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Washington. In states that will lose a seat, the number of Republicans who will be competing with each other creates opportunities for House Democrats.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel • Fighting against claims that today’s census numbers are very bad for Democrats. But let’s face it – they’re going to be very challenging for Obama, and Democrats overall, to fight. The only real Democratic stronghold that gained any seats was Washington, and Obama banked his victory on many of the states that lost electoral college votes. The amount we’re talking about wouldn’t have been enough to hurt Obama’s in 2008, but if the 2012 race is closer, it could hurt. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

With a fresh Census coming out tomorrow, we all know what you’re worried about. That’s right, where are all the seats in the House gonna move? There’s 435 of them, and people don’t stay stationary their entire lives. So, who benefits this time around? Well, if we could put it into two words: The GOP. People in general are moving into areas that have long been Republican strongholds, while moving away from traditionally Democratic Rust Belt states. “The hands that are on the [computer] mouse will be much more Republican hands, presumably crafting much more Republican seats,” said Election Data Services president Kindall Brace, who put that better than we ever could. Anyway, you want specifics, so here are some specifics:

winners Texas is the big winner, and Florida and Arizona should also get multiple seats, too. Nearly every state in the South minus hurricane-ravaged Louisiana wins out. So does the Pacific Northwest.
losers States with legacy industrial centers in the Midwest, particularly Ohio (which will likely lose two seats) and Michigan. East-coasters lose out too, particularly New York and Massachusetts. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Sep 2011 23:03