Gerrymandering, the political practice of carving up awkward-looking legislative districts to benefit one party’s political power, has slithered into the public conversation once again.
Some of us remember the history behind this political practice, starting with the Governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry.
Democratic-Republicans want to shore up their new power in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Federalist opponents of the maneuver mocked one of the serpentine-like districts created by the party, christened the shape with claws, wings, and razor- sharp mouth, calling the monstrosity “The Gerrymander.”
Why has the discussion roared into the public consensus this time?
It started with the Texas legislature’s efforts to redraw its state’s districts after a request from the Trump Administration to review the fairness of the districts.
Yes, there is gerrymandering in Texas, but not the way that (liberal) reformers want to portray the problem. Consider some of the urban (thus, Democratic) Congressional districts in Texas: the 29th , 32nd , and the 33rd for example, are obscenely drawn.
These contortions are examples of race pandering, or race-mandering, which result from tortured misuse of the Voting Rights Act, and fears of ongoing legal challenges from left-wing legal activists demanding more majority- minority districts.
This kind of lawfare recently forced Alabama and Louisiana to create gerrymandered districts.
Texas is not alone in this fight, either. Ohio has to redraw its Congressional districts. This opportunity could not three more Republican-leaning Congressional seats, while the Texas legislature is advancing a map creating five more Republican seats.
Of course, Governor Abbott and the Republican leadership have floated increasing the GOP advantage to six to eight seats of absent Democrats refuse to come back to work in their vain efforts to break legislative quorums.
Democrats have not helped their cause by fleeing to Illinois, whose districts are so gerrymandered that even Stephen Colbert poked fun at them.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who bravely pushed through a race-neutral Congressional map in 2021, netting four more GOP seats, has offered to redraw the Congressional districts yet again, in part because the state population has grown due to increased in-migration from failed blue states.
DeSantis deserves credit for the current GOP-mandering effort, since he had refused weak maps from the Florida RINOs at the beginning of the decade.
Indiana, Missouri, and South Carolina are also exploring more daring redistricting efforts, not just because of Trump’s leadership and Texas’ fight, but because the United States Supreme Court will be reviewing the “majority-minority” provisions in the Voting Rights Act. Democrats and liberal pundits fear that the court will strike them down entirely, wiping away the need for “majority-minority districts,” ensuring that Republicans gain more seats!
Gerrymandering, Race Pandering, and Political Meandering Republicans are fighting back, and Democrats don’t like that the Republicans are using their tactics against them.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is running for President even though he won’t admit it, is leading the charge, demanding that fellow Democrats start fighting with fire, although they started the fire, perfecting the art of gerrymandering under the guise of independent commissioners.
Newsom urged the California state legislature to push through reforms of the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission to fashion more Democratic districts.
The problem with this effort, though, is that the Democratic states have some of the most Democratic-leaning gerrymanders in the country already. Maryland had three Republicans as recently as 2003, but has reduced the numbers with creative redrawing.
Illinois is the biggest gerrymandered state, despite relying on an independent commission.
New York State tried to push through one of the most gerrymandered districts possible, but even the all Democratic New York Supreme Court rejected the naked political grab from Albany politicians.
Declining Governor Kathy Hochul wants to jump into the fray, anyway.
They are wearing their lawlessness like a dinner jacket. Even Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey jumped on the merry gerrymander bandwagon. She made a total fool of herself. All nine Congressional districts are gerrymandered to the Democrats’ advantage, since the Bay State has not had a Republican Congressman since 1997.
Republicans are looking good going into Election 2026, but there are rumblings against the gerrymandering sparring.
Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) has introduced legislation to stop the national mid-decade redistricting efforts. This effort is understandable, since Kiley will likely lose his seat should Gavin Newsom get his way.
However, the country needs a strong GOP majority in both chambers to ensure lasting electoral and cultural change, and if a couple seats get lost in California, but more make up for the loss in other states, I can live with it (and I live in California).
Besides, Kiley is panicking without a cause, since there is no legal way that Newsom can push through his Newsom-mandering without heavy legal retaliation.
Moreover, Newsom’s efforts are not winning him support from California voters or liberal columnists Should we be concerned about the political meandering of constant redistricting? Voters deserve consistency in representation. I do not agree on banning mid-decade redistricting, especially if a state’s population shifts or changes radically within a decade. Independent Commissioners don’t work. They are unaccountable to the people, and they still create gerrymandered districts. California Globe dishes on this perfectly. We have already discussed Illinois, with its contorted, snake-like districts designed to force out the Republican Congressmen, even though they garnered 43% of the vote in the 2024 election.
Gerrymandering, Race Pandering, and Political Meandering State legislatures should be required to draw the districts.
How do we prevent the ridiculous salamander shuffle, though? If the district covers multiple counties, at least one should be placed entirely within the Congressional district. If a governing county is large enough to incorporate more districts, then they should not straddle more than one other county. Municipal and geographical boundaries should be respected.
No portion of a Congressional district should be thinner than 20 miles.
Last of all, the notion that districts are set in stone with all the gerrymandering or partisan advantage-making is dubious in the long run. Political demographics change, voting patterns change, and even well-entrenched incumbents face losses when they lose touch with their voters.
Nothing is static in politics.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!