President Donald Trump’s push to bolster the GOP’s narrow congressional majority in next year’s elections has prompted a rare nationwide mid-decade redistricting battle that has rapidly taken shape over the past weeks.
Indiana GOP lawmakers’ White House visit this week highlights how the race to redraw congressional districts for partisan advantage may soon expand beyond Texas and California — two states that have reached new stages in their dueling redistricting efforts. Missouri could also be on its way to redrawing its map to favor Republicans.
All gerrymandering works on suppression by dilution so it’s a fine line to tread. When they try to scramble a solid blue city into 3 red districts, for example, there’s a good chance that you cut it incorrectly and end up with 1-3 blue seats.
Trying to turn a whole state one color is really playing with fire, especially when you’re churning out deeply unpopular policies the whole time. I’m sure everything will wash out with supplemental election tampering anyway, but this gerrymandering might not be as impactful as it’s made out to be.