LOS ANGELES: Democrats in California have come away with gains in the restructuring of states’ congressional districts, with limitations that could tighten their grip on delegation and play into the fight for US House control next year.
Still, the new maps leave out a string of competing seats that make California somewhat different in a country of deeply divided politics: Even if it’s a Democratic stronghold, the new maps suggest Republicans may turn away the surprise.
Democrats are defending a fragile eight-seat House majority in a midterm election, when the party that controls the White House usually loses seats in Congress and President Joe Biden’s approval rating has become untenable.
The battle for redistribution is underway across the country, as Democrats and Republicans seek an edge in future elections. The Justice Department recently sued Texas over its new redistribution maps, saying the plans discriminate against Latinos and other minority voters.
While California is losing a seat for the first time in its history as populations in other states grow rapidly, Texas, Florida, Colorado and North Carolina are among the states to gain seats.
An analysis by Sacramento research firm Redestricting Partners found that 44 of the new California House districts would have been carried by Democratic Governor Gavin Newson in his 2018 election, and 45 of the districts would be biden’s leanings in the 2020 presidential race. Will happen.
That’s an encouraging sign for Democrats, who hope to gain ground in California in 2022 after surrendering four House seats to Republicans in 2020. The Democrats have the largest delegation ever to Congress from 42 states, out of the 53-seat House delegation.
The revised lines were endorsed Monday by California’s Citizens Redistribution Commission, which was tasked with delineating new districts for changes in population, a requirement that occurs once a decade. Each district should represent 760,000 people.
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Hallie Balch said the panel created cakewalk districts for most Democrats.
Balch said in a statement that California’s redistribution committee has completely lost track of people living in the districts they have drawn. These lines mark a disappointing end to a long-standing battle for representation.
There has already been a change in delegation as a result of the reshuffling of district boundaries.
Long-serving California Representative Lucille Royble-Allard, the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress, announced Monday that she would not run for re-election in her Los Angeles-area district. The 80-year-old Democratic congresswoman took this decision because the commission had largely decimated her district.
The relocation of the district boundary line appears to have played a part in the other House departures. Among them: Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, who was one of the most ardent loyalists in Congress to former President Donald Trump, is leaving the House later this year to join Trump’s fledgling media company, and Democratic Rep. Alan Lowenthal, who represents a district based in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, announced that he would be retiring at the end of his term.
The ripple effect continues, and some candidates in major races may relocate to nearby districts in search of a more favorable political climate. Republican US Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steele, who fully or partially held Democratic seats in Orange County in 2020, have yet to announce their plans.
However, the transfer lines had little effect on the prominent names of the state in the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s highly Democratic district in San Francisco remained highly Democratic. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy’s district, anchored in Bakersfield, became more concretely Republican in the new maps.
While most of the attention has focused on the loss of a Congressional seat in California, analysts said the legislative maps drawn for 40 state senators and 80 state legislature members are a big win for Democrats.
The maps are essentially locked into Democratic supermajorities for the next 10 years, said Rob Pearce, research director for the nonpartisan California Target Book, which closely tracks redistribution.
Republicans have been on the verge of irrelevance in a heavily democratic state for years, and Democrats control every statewide office and dominate delegations to the Legislature and Congress. Redistricting Partners’ Mitchell said Republicans make up less than a quarter of registered voters, and have lost support in Republican-leaning suburbs.
Mitchell said the new lines would dent Republican hopes of gaining ground in the legislature.
The new lines also recognize the state’s growing diversity.
Mitchell said Latinos, the largest racial or ethnic group in California, now represent a majority in 16 House districts. Three districts group together areas with large Asian populations, and two do the same for communities with large numbers of black residents.
The boundaries of the districts of the Fresno area represented by Democratic Rep. Jim Costa and Republican Rep. David Valladao and Devin Nunes moved up significantly. Costa announced Tuesday that he will run in the new 21st District, located in the Central Valley.
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Associated Press Writer Don Thompson in Sacramento contributed.
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