A three-judge panel on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled in January that the state’s map was an unconstitutional gerrymander, however the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to immediately take up the case this month. Under that map, Republicans have repeatedly won 13 of the states 18 House seats. Late Thursday night, Governor Wolf, along with registered Democratic and Republican voters who attempted to intervene in the case, all submitted their own maps.
Advertisement
But Yudichak said the new map is an improvement.
The map removes the heart of one district from Philadelphia, where a crowd of candidates had assembled to replace the retiring Democratic Rep. So the court enlisted Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford professor of law who has experience redrawing districts in other states, to help come up with an entirely new model.
In a Monday order, the court wrote that its new map splits just 13 counties.
A look at Washington’s congressional map reveals districts that are logically shaped, unlike the “tortuously drawn districts” the court found in Pennsylvania or the nonsensical districts found in other states.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, issued a statement saying he respects the court’s remedy.
“Over the last month, I have personally heard from thousands of Pennsylvanians and they are sick and exhausted of gerrymandering, which perpetuates gridlock, alienates citizens and stifles reform”, Wolf said.
“This is the map that many people think is natural for Pennsylvania, which is a 50-50 state, a classic battleground, but hasn’t performed that way in terms of congressional elections for decades”, he said by telephone.
Eastern Butler County- including Buffalo, Oakland and Summit townships and Chicora, Bruin and Petrolia boroughs, are now part of the 15 District.
In addition to part of Luzerne County, the proposed District 8 includes all of Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties. The 15th is another huge rural area; the 16th includes Erie County and much of the rest of northwest Pennsylvania; and the 17th and 18th Districts include Pittsburgh and some of the surrounding area.
Most of Luzerne County is now in the 11th district, which cuts through parts of Carbon, Dauphin, Perry and Cumberland counties.
Under the old map, the CNN House ratings had five Republican seats that were ranked lean Republican or worse for the Republicans. “Montgomery County, in the past few redistrictings, has had three or four members of Congress”.
The Fifth District now includes all of Delaware County and portions of South Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia. Bob Brady, Pat Meehan, Charlie Dent and Bill Shuster and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta’s move to run for Senate. The area is home to current management and retirees of DE companies like DuPont and its many banks.
Advertisement
Luzerne County municipalities with larger populations – including the cities of Pittson, Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke and Hazleton -are in the 8th district. Lloyd Smucker of Lancaster County and Ryan Costello of Chester County were bundled together. The decision split down party lines. State Rep. Steve Bloom (R-Cumberland) was running for the seat but has now been drawn out of it. Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries and candidate Andrew Lewis were both seeking the Republican nomination but they, too, have been drawn out.
