Once again, Republicans have lost a congressional map battle.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to approve a Democrat-leaning congressional map.
The new map wipes out yet another Republican seat.
Wipe Out
So, Democrats know they are in trouble in 2022 no matter what they do.
At this point, it is about controlling the damage.
The new map for PA clearly targeted a single Republican seat.
To that point, roughly 90 percent of the previous lines had been left alone, with the sole focus on eliminating this one seat.
Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman stated, “Pretty much the best-case scenario for Dems from the 4D-3R PA Supreme Court.”
He added, “One solid GOP district, #PA12, is eliminated from the current 9D-9R delegation.”
Democrats celebrated the new map…
🚨BREAKING: Pennsylvania Supreme Court ADOPTS new congressional map. Court selects maps put forward by our clients (Carter) as new statewide map!
Proud of the work @EliasLawGroup and @RedistrictFdn did to ensure fair maps in Pennsylvania.https://t.co/L8iDXaDR1l
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) February 23, 2022
The solace for Republicans here is that they still have a chance to significantly flip this state.
Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state and voters are sick and tired of Democrat lockdowns and Joe Biden.
Republicans have a legitimate shot at turning the current 9-9 House count to an 11-6 advantage in the mid-term elections.
Considering Democrats targeted the one House seat that was solidly Republican for the seat the state lost due to the new census, this would be Karma paying them back.
On another note, Republicans were dealt another blow in North Carolina after a three-panel judge approved another gerrymandering case for Democrats.
If the new map holds up, a GOP seat will be lost to Democrats in the 2022 mid-term elections, giving Democrats a lock on six seats in the state (they currently hold five).
If NC Supreme Court upholds this congressional map, would be a big win for Dems: a 7R-6D-1C plan, w/ a new safe Dem #NC14 in Charlotte and a new competitive but Dem-trending #NC13 outside Raleigh. https://t.co/ELsiRfP9iw
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) February 23, 2022
Republicans are still expected to take back the House, only the advantage we were expecting may not be quite as large as we had hoped.
Before the new maps came out, I was projecting about three dozen seats to be flipped.
Now, it seems that number will be under two dozen unless there are some significant upsets.
Source: Washington Examiner
