Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Sign in
  • Members
    • Monthly – $5 a month
    • Annual – $50 a year
    • Member Benefits
    • Account
    • Exclusive Analysis
    • Member Library
    • My Favorites
  • Resources
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for Redistricting

The Failure of Gerrymandering In 2018

January 7, 2019 at 10:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Economist: “Ever since district borders in America’s House of Representatives were redrawn in 2011, Republicans’ share of seats has exceeded their proportion of the vote. In 2012 Democrats won 51% of the two-party vote but just 46% of seats.”

“The Congress that began on January 3rd, however, has no such imbalance. Democrats won 54% of the total two-party vote—and also 54% of House seats. Whatever became of the vaunted pro-Republican bias?”

“Many Republican mapmakers tried to neutralize Democratic voters by burying them in suburban districts full of educated whites. They never imagined that this ruse would backfire, but Mr Trump drove these once-loyal Republicans into Democrats’ arms.”

Filed Under: Redistricting

Supreme Court Will Take Up Gerrymandering Cases

January 4, 2019 at 9:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Supreme Court once again will take up unresolved constitutional questions about partisan gerrymandering, agreeing Friday to consider rulings from two lower courts that found congressional maps in North Carolina and Maryland so extreme that they violated the rights of voters,” the Washington Post reports.

“The North Carolina map was drawn by Republicans, the Maryland districts by the state’s dominant Democrats.”

Filed Under: Redistricting

Wisconsin Democrats Fear GOP Redistricting End-Around

November 28, 2018 at 4:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Wisconsin Democrats scored a huge win when Tony Evers captured the governor’s office last month. But an even bigger fight is looming as Republican lawmakers prepare to redraw legislative boundaries, stirring fears among Democrats that their rivals could take unprecedented steps to remove Evers from the process,” the AP reports.

“The next round of redistricting is set for early 2021. After suffocating for a decade from the 2011 maps, Democrats had high hopes in the first days after the election that Evers would block another set of Republican-drawn boundaries.”

“But nervous Democrats fear Republicans may take steps to remove or weaken the governor’s power in the redistricting process.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: Wisconsin

Ohio Democrats Won More Votes But Remain In Minority

November 15, 2018 at 1:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As Ohio Republicans won the race for every statewide executive job from the governor on down this year, something different happened in lower-profile races. The Democrats actually collected more total votes in the 116 Ohio House and Senate elections across the state,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“It’s a takeaway from Election 2018 that isn’t the usual headline grabber.  More importantly, in terms of controlling Ohio’s government, the GOP won 72 of the 116 Statehouse races. But the Republicans scored their wins for 62 percent of the seats while collecting just under 50 percent of the total vote.”

“This is a lot like what happened in Ohio’s 16 congressional districts, where Republicans won 75 percent of the seats with just 52 percent of the overall vote.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Redistricting

North Carolina Districts Challenged Again In Court

November 13, 2018 at 3:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Yet another redistricting lawsuit has been filed in North Carolina, this one challenging General Assembly boundaries that Democrats and election reform advocates say are illegally tainted by excessive favoritism toward Republicans,” the Greensboro News & Record reports.

“Common Cause North Carolina, the state Democratic Party and Democratic and unaffiliated voters sued GOP mapmakers Tuesday in Wake County court. They allege the lines are illegal partisan gerrymanders that make it virtually impossible for Democrats to win majorities in the House or Senate.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: North Carolina

Trump Tore Down the GOP’s Redistricting Wall

November 13, 2018 at 12:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“For years, some Democrats said gerrymandering was an insurmountable roadblock to the House majority that couldn’t be cleared until after the 2020 census. Then along came President Trump,” Politico reports.

“House Democrats steamrolled Republicans in an array of districts last week, from those drawn by independent commissions or courts, to seats crafted specifically by Republicans with the intention of keeping them in the GOP column.”

“The overriding factor: a Republican president who political mapmakers could not have foreseen at the beginning of the decade. Trump altered the two parties’ coalitions in ways that specifically undermined conventional wisdom about the House map, bringing more rural voters into the GOP tent while driving away college-educated voters.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Redistricting

Democrats Win More Sway on Redistricting

November 9, 2018 at 2:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Tuesday’s election results gave Democrats control of the House of Representatives for at least the next two years. But their success elsewhere on the ballot puts them in a better position to control it for the next decade after that,” USA Today reports.

“With Democratic candidates for governor and state lawmaker winning in several key states, the party broke Republican monopolies that redrew the political maps after the 2010 census – maps that have given the GOP an advantage in congressional elections in the years since.”

“On Tuesday, Democrats picked up full control of state governments in Colorado, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, New York and Nevada. In several states where Republicans held full control – Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Wisconsin – they will now share power with Democrats.”

Filed Under: Redistricting

The Next Threat to Redistricting Reform

October 22, 2018 at 11:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Hasen: “These are perilous times even for those who think that federal courts have no business messing with how state legislatures draw lines for legislative and congressional districts and that the issue is best left up to each state’s political system. Now that Justice Anthony Kennedy has left the stage, it is unlikely that the Court will stop extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

“But the Court may do more than simply fail to intervene. Within a few years, the Supreme Court may well hold unconstitutional state political processes that have produced measurably better redistricting reform for the drawing of congressional districts.”

Filed Under: Redistricting

Court Won’t Force North Carolina Redistricting This Year

September 5, 2018 at 7:52 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A three-judge panel ruled that North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts will remain in place and so will the Nov. 6, 2018 election, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

“The panel ruled last week that the districts are unconstitutional due to “partisan gerrymandering” designed to produce 10 Republican seats. But, with the election only two months away, the plaintiffs in the case — the North Carolina chapters of Common Cause and The League of Women Voters — argued that it was too late to change the maps despite their victory. On Tuesday, the court agreed.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Redistricting

Virginia Lawmakers Meet to Redraw Districts

August 30, 2018 at 10:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Virginia lawmakers are set to meet in Richmond for a special session so they can comply with a court order to redraw the state’s legislative map,” the AP reports.

“Members of the Virginia House and Senate convene at noon Thursday. The special session comes after a federal court in June found that 11 House of Delegates districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. The court ordered lawmakers to redraw the state map by Oct. 30.”

Filed Under: Redistricting, State House Tagged With: Virgnia

New Districts in North Carolina Could Help Democrats

August 28, 2018 at 11:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A ruling by a panel of federal judges raised the potential of drawing new congressional districts in North Carolina before November’s election, the Charlotte Observer reports.

“Among the court’s proposed remedies this time: Redrawing the districts before November and holding a general election without a primary election, or redrawing the districts, holding a primary election in November and holding a general election sometime before Congress is seated in January 2019. The court also said it might allow the General Assembly another chance at redrawing the districts.”

Nate Silver: “If North Carolina were required to redistrict, would be worth another two seats or so for Democrats. Although with a high margin for error because of all of this happening at such a late date.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: North Carolina

Court Finds North Carolina Districts Unconstitutional

August 27, 2018 at 6:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rick Hasen: “In a case with potentially national implications both short term and long, a three judge district court in North Carolina has held that the congressional redistricting plan—put in place after North Carolina’s districts last time were found to be a racial gerrymander—are an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. The remedy is not set yet, but the court may have a remedy in place for the 2018 elections, something I find surprising.”

“If this opinion stands (and given the current 4-4 split on the Supreme Court, any emergency action could well fail, leaving the lower court opinion in place), the court may well order new districts be drawn in time for the 2018 elections.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: North Carolina

How Email Could Undo GOP Gerrymandering

July 29, 2018 at 1:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Slate: “The master Republican mapmaker Tom Hofeller is among the visionaries who understood how sophisticated new GIS software and powerful new data sets provided an opportunity for the GOP to gerrymander itself decadelong advantages in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures nationwide. Hofeller trains state legislators and junior line-drawers, however, with a PowerPoint so old-school that it looks like it might have been designed on a Commodore 64. There are no special effects to clutter Hofeller’s most important laws of redistricting: Avoid recklessness. Always be discreet. Avoid email.”

Said Hoefeller: “Emails are the tools of the devil. Remember — A journey to legal hell starts with but a single misstatement or a stupid email!”

“Time and again, Hofeller’s political allies have failed to heed his advice. The most recent example: newly disclosed emails—part of a federal court challenge to the constitutionality of the Michigan map by the League of Women Voters—that reveal just how determined GOP operatives, mapmakers, and congressional staffers were to design maps that would provide Republicans with a full decade of dominance.”

Filed Under: Redistricting

Emails Show Michigan GOP Plotting to Gerrymander Maps

July 26, 2018 at 10:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Newly disclosed emails show Michigan Republicans angling to give their party a dominant position through gerrymandered maps and celebrating the plight of their Democratic rivals,” the New York Times reports.

“Republicans in the state have denied that they sought partisan gain when they drew new legislative boundaries in 2011. But a federal lawsuit, which argues the maps are unconstitutional, has unearthed records showing Republicans intent on drawing boundaries that would help their party.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: Michigan

When Gerrymandering Backfires

May 10, 2018 at 12:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “In many states, Republicans maximized gains in the House by spreading GOP voters across as many districts as possible. Typically, that left Democrats with around 40 to 45 percent of the vote in those districts, making them difficult under normal circumstances for the minority party to contest.”

“But this election year is anything but normal. Many of the once-secure 55-45 Republican districts are very much in play, even in states that have not had competitive congressional races since 2012, the year new maps were installed. And North Carolina and Ohio — where Democrats chose nominees in primaries on Tuesday — are turning into the prime examples.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Redistricting

Supreme Court Takes Another Look at Gerrymandering

March 28, 2018 at 8:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News: “For the second time this term, the U.S. Supreme Court considers a question that could change the nature of American politics: Is it unconstitutional for states to draw the boundary lines for voting districts in a blatantly partisan manner?”

“On Wednesday, the justices take up a challenge brought by Republicans in Maryland who say Democrats intentionally carved up a congressional district to get an electoral edge.”

Nina Totenberg: “The bottom line is it could be that optics are part of the reason the court added a second partisan gerrymandering case to its docket, so that in one case, the Republicans could prevail, and in the other, the Democrats could.”

Filed Under: Judiciary, Redistricting

Supreme Court Refuses to Block New Pennsylvania Map

March 19, 2018 at 3:42 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from Pennsylvania Republican legislative leaders to block the implementation of a redrawn congressional map that creates more parity between the political parties in the state,” the Washington Post reports.

“The practical impact is the 2018 elections in the state are likely to be held with a map much more favorable to Democrats, who scored a surprising victory last week in a special election in Pennsylvania.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: Pennsylvania

New Pennsylvania Map Better for Democrats than 500 Simulations

February 26, 2018 at 10:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nate Cohn: “The Republican-drawn map was an extreme outlier compared with the simulations made by Jowei Chen of the University of Michigan, who has provided expert testimony in many redistricting cases. None of the simulations favored Republicans by anywhere near as much as the congressional map enacted in 2011, which gave the Republicans a 13-to-5 advantage. And partly on that basis, the court ruled that the map violated the state’s constitution.”

“But what about the remedial map recently adopted by the court? It is not an outlier to the same extent as the Republican-drawn map. But if you look at what 2016 statewide results would have been with the new map, the overall Democratic performance arguably would have been better than in all 500 of Mr. Chen’s simulations.

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: Pennsylvania

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 6
  • Next Page »

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Political Wire Straw Poll Results
  • Political Wire Straw Poll

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Praise for Political Wire

"There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them."

-- Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press"

"Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all."

-- Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

"Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

-- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

"The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom -- nicely packaged, constantly updated... What political junkie could ask for more?"

-- Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2019 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy