The release of the maps now appears to salvage hopes that the May 29 primary could happen as scheduled, though filing dates are unclear. While neither party gets its ideal scenario, the proposed map is likely to result in a split of the state’s four new congressional districts by creating three new Hispanic-majority seats that should be won by Democrats. The new map strongly resembles a “compromise” map that emerged earlier this month between Attorney General Greg Abbott and a Latino interest group – but it was a map that many Democrats and other Hispanic coalitions didn’t endorse or like.
The topsy-turvy Texas redistricting saga appears to be approaching toward a conclusion – for now. On Tuesday, a San Antonio federal court panel released a new map that is expected to be in place for the 2012 elections, but there’s still the possibility that the lines could undergo an overhaul before subsequent cycles.
The release of the maps now appears to salvage hopes that the May 29 primary could happen as scheduled, though filing dates are unclear. While neither party gets its ideal scenario, the proposed map is likely to result in a split of the state’s four new congressional districts by creating three new Hispanic-majority seats that should be won by Democrats. The new map strongly resembles a “compromise” map that emerged earlier this month between Attorney General Greg Abbott and a Latino interest group – but it was a map that many Democrats and other Hispanic coalitions didn’t endorse or like.
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One of the remaining pieces of the redistricting puzzle was revealed Tuesday, with a Minnesota judicial panel releasing a new map that only slightly changes the state’s congressional boundaries but still leaves freshman Republican Chip Cravaack as the top target in 2012.
The new lines also put GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann into the same district as Democrat Betty McCollum, but the one-time presidential candidate announced after the maps were revealed that she’ll still run for reelection in her old 6th District – a solidly Republican seat that went 54 percent for John McCain in 2008, as opposed to McCollum’s St. Paul based district, which tilts more than 10 points toward Democrats. It’s a rough time to be a North Carolina Democrat.
In the span of just a week, the party’s seen Gov. Bev Perdue choose retirement over a competitive reelection she was likely to lose, Rep. Brad Miller headed for the exits rather than face Rep. David Price in a Democratic primary, and moderate Rep. Heath Shuler has taken a knee instead of running for reelection in his now Republican-leaning district. As Florida Republicans approach a compromise on redistricting, a game of musical chairs between GOP Reps. Allen West and Tom Rooney could potentially save one of the most endangered members of Congress.
With Rooney announcing he’ll run in the solidly Republican 17th District, which includes about 40 percent of his old 16th District, West is poised to run instead in the now-open 18th District. According to Republican sources, about a quarter of West’s former constituents are now in the 18th District, which runs along the coast and takes in St. Lucie and Martin. |
Jessica TaylorNon-partisan political analyst Archives
January 2013
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