So the first Texas Congressional map of the 2020 redistricting cycle has been released. If you look at the shapes of the districts in DFW and San Antonio you're going WTF is this?
My thoughts:
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Looks like both of the two new seats, 37 in Austin and 38 in Houston, are going blue. So overall Democrats pick up both of the two new seats.
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CDs 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 27, and 36 are roughly the same in composition and geography and will remain safe GOP seats.
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The GOP worked hard to ensure that CDs 2, 3, 6, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 31 are safer and less likely to flip, though 6, 22, 23, 24, and 26 will all be in play by the end of the decade.
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While I don’t have a precinct list to compare to election results, it looks to my eye like all the incumbent Democrats are saved.
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Wow CD33 (Marc Veasey, Dallas-Ft Worth) is quite possiblly the most egregious pack job I've ever seen.
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Conversely, CD24 is a crack job designed to find every possible GQP voter to shore up Beth Van Duyne and screw over challenger State Rep. Michelle Beckley.
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In 2010 over 300 maps were proposed before the final one was approved, but it is awfully weird to put CD3 in a elephant-shaped donut hole that is surrounded by the pincers of Pat Fallon’s CD4 (and no I'm not keen on being in Fallon's district). But again both of these districts will be in play by the end of the decade.
I’ve played with the lines over at DistrictR have no clue why the GOP couldn’t draw a map with the same outcomes yet result in compact districts.
This is a map I drew that shows what sane and compact districts would look like. It contains 12 safe D, 18 safe R, and 8 swingy districts.