The Tolbert Poll says that they do care and hate the plan.
It's a poll by a conservative group with an interest in holding off this map and the premise is that you're asking people their opinions. Generally people have no idea what their maps look like or who their representative is. It's a major uphill battle to get people to care about this process stuff.
This.
What the poll says is, when asked, people would prefer in a district with cities near them. Which is pretty much the definition of "they needed to take a poll to tell us that? Wtf?" (You would have to be copped in to politics to even be aware that the "(named) cities far from here" option means a Democratic congressman.) They did not in any way or form ask people how strongly they feel about the proposal, or if they were previously aware of it.
I think this plan is bad for the GOP. It turns an already packed AR 3 into a hyperpacked AR 3.
Yes, it does. The question is - is that enough for Arkansas Democrats to bounce back as they did after 94? Or are they in danger of losing the 1st and 2nd, and perhaps the 4th as well, for good, unless they massively redraw the map?
It really depends on what you expect to happen in the future. It would have been possible to draw a seat that would be safe Democratic even if Congressional voting patterns continue to mirror the last presidential election, as they did in 2010 across the south, but never before. They aren't doing that. It's a major gamble.