Redistricting makes taking back the House difficult for Dems

[krazen1211]

There was basically the same situation in 2002. The only state that flipped in control is North Carolina. OK the Democrats had Georgia too but that was an atrocious dummymander. At least this year the Democrats got Illinois and there is some restraint on the Republicans in Florida, as well as Obama DOJ's veto on many maps.

Are you thinking of 1990? Because in 2000, the GA Dems created 2 new districts that held the decade, and flipped the 8th for most of the decade.

There's Alabama too. Montgomery was removed from the black district, and now put back in. Louisiana, well, I suppose not much has changed except the 6th had all its Baton Rouge blacks removed.

[krazen1211]

That not-quite-majority black seat in the south Atlanta metro was going to happen no matter what, the only way a Republican could gerrymander it and not threaten nearby Republican seats would violate the VRA. It didn't have to look as ugly as the Democrats made it, but there's a reason the Republicans didn't change it much in their re-remap.

It didn't have to, necessarily. The other black districts (4, 5, 2) could have absorbed most of 13's Democrats. As it is, all 3 have some Republicans in them that could be excised out. There's plenty of ample precedent to rack up blacks to 67% or so.

12 definitely would have been a 'proper' Republican district.