US House Redistricting: Indiana

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

With a Republican Governor and Republican legislature, Republicans have an opportunity to create a gerrymandered map. However, several leading Republicans claim they are committed to a bi-partisan map, which isn't sitting too well with some, including myself. 10 years ago, Democrats gave us a terrible map to work with on the state level, and they completely ignored geographic similarities when creating the US House Districts. As long as Republicans return things to normal, we're looking at 6-7 GOP seats. The best possibility for Democrats right now is 3 solid seats, with 2 toss-ups.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops.

Ideas I would suggest :
SPLIT INDIANAPOLIS not in two but in four (destroy Carson's district)
Force Donnelly into a primary with Vislowsky (bye bye either one. Most likely Silent Joe)
Create a new district between Stutzman and Vislowsky centered around South Bend in the north and Kokomo in the South (New IN-2 Rep by Jackie Walorski)
Out of the Indy Split Pence, Burton, Rokita, and Young all rep part of Indy

So the delegation would look kinda like this

1.Safe Dem (Vislowsky)
2.Likely GOP (Walorski)
3.Safe GOP (Stutzman)
4.Safe GOP (Rokita)
5.Safe GOP (Burton)
6.Safe GOP (Pence)
7.Toss Up (Scott)
8.Lean GOP (Bucshon)
9.Likely GOP (Young)

Very dangerous and as has been pointed out before it would make IN at risk to be represented by 6 or 7 Dems in the right environment like in 1974 (which followed a similar redistricting plan in 1971).

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

With a Republican Governor and Republican legislature, Republicans have an opportunity to create a gerrymandered map. However, several leading Republicans claim they are committed to a bi-partisan map, which isn't sitting too well with some, including myself. 10 years ago, Democrats gave us a terrible map to work with on the state level, and they completely ignored geographic similarities when creating the US House Districts. As long as Republicans return things to normal, we're looking at 6-7 GOP seats. The best possibility for Democrats right now is 3 solid seats, with 2 toss-ups.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops.

Ideas I would suggest :
SPLIT INDIANAPOLIS not in two but in four (destroy Carson's district)
Force Donnelly into a primary with Vislowsky (bye bye either one. Most likely Silent Joe)
Create a new district between Stutzman and Vislowsky centered around South Bend in the north and Kokomo in the South (New IN-2 Rep by Jackie Walorski)
Out of the Indy Split Pence, Burton, Rokita, and Young all rep part of Indy

So the delegation would look kinda like this

1.Safe Dem (Vislowsky)
2.Likely GOP (Walorski)
3.Safe GOP (Stutzman)
4.Safe GOP (Rokita)
5.Safe GOP (Burton)
6.Safe GOP (Pence)
7.Toss Up (Scott)
8.Lean GOP (Bucshon)
9.Likely GOP (Young)

Very dangerous and as has been pointed out before it would make IN at risk to be represented by 6 or 7 Dems in the right environment like in 1974 (which followed a similar redistricting plan in 1971).

But how could the GOP stick it to the Dems like they did us in 2000 when they eliminated the old tenth? This may be the best way.  Is there a better way?

Create a safe 7-2 GOP map. Between Gary in the north and Indianapolis, It would be very foolish not to create two packed Dem seats. Whatever is Dem and can't be packed into the first or seventh should be peeled like a banana with the most Dem pieces being placed in districts with uber Republican Indy suburbs and exurbs to neutralize them. Similar to what JL did. Going 10 years with a 7-2 delegation, "sticks it to them" in my book. Also, whatever happened in 2000, would hardly count as being "screwed". CA 1981 and TX 2003 is getting screwed. The really ambitious ILL plans that kill 4 or 5 Republicans this time around is getting screwed. Its pretty hard to argue that you guys got screwed when the map produced a 6-3 delegation in 2002, 7-2 in 2004 and 6-3 again (almost 7-2) in 2010. Thats 3/5 elections this past decade. And when you consider that the GOP won 6/10 seats in 2000 and 6/9 in 2002, at face value you would think the Republicans had been in charge.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Indy needs a packed district not a split. Putting that many Dems into the surronding districts could mean a delegation with 5 or 6 Brad Ellsworths and Joe Donnelly's.