Today’s US Census Release Shows Most Maps in States Gaining Seats in Congress to be Redrawn by GOP April 26, 2021 Vol. XIV, No. 6 3:13 pm North Carolina will have 14 congressional seats It’s official! The US Census Bureau announced at 3 o’clock this afternoon that North Carolina is one of six states gaining
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Today’s US Census Release Shows Most Maps in States Gaining Seats in Congress to be Redrawn by GOP
April 26, 2021 Vol. XIV, No. 6 3:13 pm
North Carolina will have 14 congressional seats
It’s official! The US Census Bureau announced at 3 o’clock this afternoon that North Carolina is one of six states gaining a combined total of seven seats in the United States Congress, with five of the seven seats in states where Republicans control remapping.
Thanks to a decade of population growth, states gaining seats in Congress include Texas (+2 seats), Florida (+1 seat), North Carolina (+1 seat), Montana (+1 seat), Colorado (+1 seat), and Oregon (+1 seat). Republicans have exclusive control over remapping in Texas, Florida and Montana thanks to GOP Governors and GOP majorities in the state legislatures.
Republicans also have exclusive control of remapping in North Carolina, as Gov. Roy Cooper, D-Nash, has no authority to veto reapportionment bills. (Clarification: Republicans have exclusive control of remapping in North Carolina subject to ten years of litigation.)
Colorado, dominated by Democrats, has an independent redistricting commission.
Bottom Line: Republicans were dealt a better hand today with remapping congressional districts for the remainder of the decade. Most states gaining seats in Congress are GOP-friendly states. Most states losing seats in Congress are controlled by Democrats: New York (-1 seats), Illinois (-1 seat), Pennsylvania (-1 seat), Michigan (-1 seat), and California (-1 seat), along with two Republican-friendly states, Ohio (-1 seat), and West Virginia (-1 seat).
Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the US Congress, having won 222 seats last November to 213 for the Republicans. If you add today’s Republican advantage in drawing new congressional seats to the historic fact that most new US presidents see an average loss of 23 seats for their party during the first midterm elections, you can readily see that the GOP has better odds than Democrats of winning the majority of congressional races next year.
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John N. Davis
