Redistricting battles hit a fever pitch
Republicans, who have many more opportunities nationally to draw the lines in key states, registered their first big potential gerrymander in Texas by releasing a map that draws three of the four districts the state is gaining in reapportionment to be Republican-leaning and decimates Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s seat by making it much more conservative.
In both cases, the maps go further than even the smartest experts had expected them to, giving the party in power a chance to win more seats than projected.
Given that Texas and Illinois are two of the first large population states to tackle redistricting so far this year — all 50 states have to redraw their lines before 2012 — we appear to be headed for a no-holds-barred redistricting cycle.