Alternative Districts: Oklahoma State Senate
Below you'll find my alternative to the Oklahoma State Senate district map. As with all of my maps, certain criteria are considered including: compactness, coalescing communities of interest including large minority voting blocs, and respecting political boundaries. Recreating the actual map using Dave’s Redistricting App was not practical since too many districts couldn’t be drawn to match exactly. The presentation adheres to my new preferred layout, which displays an image of region of focus, followed by district descriptions that include names of counties, in part or whole, and current PVI (Partisan Voting Index), concluded with a brief summary contrasting significant changes between my version and the actual version. The district numbering keeps to the previous numbering as closely as possible.
Northeast 1, 3, 4, 9, 29
1st. Delaware, Ottawa, Adair (part); R+24
3rd. Mayes, Cherokee (part); R+18
4th. Seqouyah, Adair (part), Cherokee (part), Le Flore (part); R+24
9th. Muskogee, McIntosh (part); R+14
29th. Craig, Nowata, Washington; R+26
Some of these solidly Republican districts were still winnable for Democrats just a decade ago. This region of the state has a large Native American population, which gives the districts significant Native VAP ranging from 11% to 24%. Counties are kept together better than on the actual district map.
Tulsa 2, 11, 12, 18, 25, 33-37
2nd. Rogers (part); R+29
11th. Osage (part), Tulsa (part); D+23
12th. Creek, Lincoln (part); R+28
18th. Rogers (part), Wagoner (part); R+27
25th. Tulsa (part); R+23
33rd. Tulsa (part); R+27
34th. Tulsa (part); R+24
35th. Tulsa (part); R+3
36th. Tulsa (part); R+18
37th. Tulsa (part); R+21
Democrats hold the actual 34th and 37th districts, as well as the Black 11th district, but the former two are heavily Republican districts which Democrats picked up in special elections a few years ago. These districts are largely kept the same. The 35th becomes much more competitive and could probably elect a Democrat when compared to the 34th and 37th. Overall, the districts in this region are more compact than the actual district.
Oklahoma City 15, 16, 22-24, 30, 40-48
15th. Cleveland (part), McClain (part); R+27
16th. Cleveland (part); D+5
22nd. Oklahoma (part); R+20
23rd. Canadian (part); R+29
24th. Cleveland (part); R+21
30th. Oklahoma (part); R+3
40th. Oklahoma (part); D+10
41st. Oklahoma (part); R+20
42nd. Oklahoma (part); R+25
43rd. Grady, Canadian (part); R+29
44th. Cleveland (part), Oklahoma (part); R+19
45th. Oklahoma (part); R+4
46th. Oklahoma (part); D+9
47th. Oklahoma (part); R+15
48th. Oklahoma (part); D+16
A quickly growing region, the Oklahoma City area will be the foundation for the future of the state’s Democratic party. This would be made easier if the districts were drawn more appropriately, a version of which is obvious below. There’s a Hispanic and a Black opportunity district, the 46th and 48th respectively. The 30th and 40th districts, while both held by Democrats currently, are Republican leaning districts. My version moves both of these districts to the left, making the 40th a solidly Democratic district. The 45th also moves to the left significantly, giving Democrats a shot at winning another district. The 16th district in Cleveland County, is a Democratic leaning district based in the city of Norman. My version also moves this district to the left while improving its compactness and respect for municipal boundaries. The remaining districts are solidly Republican, but they’re all drawn to be more practical, and the only district crossing county lines is the 44th.
Southeast 4-9, 17, 28
4th. Seqouyah, Adair (part), Cherokee (part), Le Flore (part); R+24
5th. McCurtain, Pushmataha, Le Flore (part); R+29
6th. Bryan, Choctaw, Marshall, Johnston (part); R+27
7th. Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg, McIntosh (part); R+24
8th. Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Seminole; R+17
9th. Muskogee, McIntosh (part); R+14
17th. Pottawatomie, Lincoln (part); R+25
28th. Atoka, Coal, Hughes, Pontotoc, Johnston (part); R+25
While Democrats may have voter registration advantages in this region of Oklahoma, the area has lurched towards Republicans over the last few decades. The districts are drawn to be practical and compact, meaning they respect communities of interest and geographical/political boundaries where feasible.
Southwest 13, 14, 31, 32, 38
13th. Garvin, Murray, Carter (part); R+26
14th. Cotton, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Tillman, Carter (part), Stephens (part); R+30
31st. Comanche (part), Stephens (part); R+27
32nd. Comanche (part); R+5
38th. Beckham, Caddo, Greer, Kiowa, Washita; R+28
The districts here are solidly Republican, with the 32nd being the only exception. My 32nd district moves to the left by better consolidating the city of Lawton. The 14th is now a large district that is bordered by the Red River that divides Oklahoma from Texas. The other districts are made more compact.
Northwest 19-21, 26, 27
19th. Garfield, Grant, Kay (part); R+29
20th. Logan, Noble, Pawnee, Lincoln (part); R+27
21st. Payne; R+16
26th. Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Kingfisher, Roger Mills, Canadian (part); R+33
27th. Alfalfa, Beaver, Cimarron, Ellis, Harper, Major, Texas, Woods, Woodward; R+38
Not too much changes in this sparsely populated region. The 21st is kept the same, being comprised only of Payne County, with the 20th wrapping around it. The 19th and 27th are very compact districts. The 26th is the only one with big changes, being made into a compact district.
The Oklahoma State Senate district map was drawn by Republicans to benefit Republicans. While the state has moved towards the right over time, this presentation shows that there are areas where more appropriately drawn districts would improve partisan representation.
Thanks for viewing!
The maps were created using Dave’s Redistricting App: gardow.com/…
2016 Election Results were acquired via Dave’s Redistricting App 2020 update
The charts and data were assembled using spreadsheets via Stephen Wolf’s guide: www.dailykos.com/…
The Statistical Atlas was used to match the district numbering: statisticalatlas.com/…
Links to Texas maps
Alternative Districts: Texas State Senate
Alternative Districts: Texas State House of Representatives