Breaking: @CookPolitical PVI values for the new PA map (h/t @bycoffe). Note: districts were totally renumbered, so careful on before/after. Will walk thru the biggest changes below. 1/
New #PA01 (old #PA08): Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) - takes in a less GOP-friendly portion of Montco, PVI ticks down from R+2 to R+1
New #PA02 (old #PA01): this should be a safe NE Philly district for Rep. Brendan Boyle (D). PVI D+25
New #PA03 (old #PA02): safe African-American majority seat for Rep. Dwight Evans (D). PVI D+41
New #PA04 (old #PA13): safe Dem seat for a Montco Dem. Boyle (D) could choose to run here but lives in new #PA02.
New #PA05 (old #PA07): safe Dem seat for a Delco Dem. Meehan (R) is the retiring incumbent here & now GOP doesn't have a prayer of keeping it. PVI D+13.
New #PA06 (keeps same #): unites all of Chester County plus city of Reading. Rep. Ryan Costello (R) now in big trouble. PVI moves from R+2 to D+2.
New #PA07 (old #PA15): reunites the Lehigh Valley, making Dent (R) open seat much more winnable for Dems. PVI moves from R+4 to D+1.
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A long-term problem for Democrats: a majority of the Senate now represents 18% of the country’s population.
And, 60% of the Senate now represents just 24% of the country’s population. This penalty for Dems is on full display in 2018: nytimes.com/2018/08/20/opi…
For all the gerrymandering in the House, it's actually the Senate that's vastly more unrepresentative. The fact it's remotely close owes to 11 red-state Dem senators - almost entirely up in 2018 - who have hung on thanks to an extraordinary combination of skill & luck.
1) your voters aren’t turning out 2) your incumbents are getting outraised 3) the other party has candidates in virtually all 435 districts 4) you keep waiting for things to “get better” and they don’t.
2010, meet your mirror image: 2018.
I could add many more:
5) your incumbents in tough districts are calling it quits 6) voters start caring about your side’s scandals a lot more than your opponents’ 7) you recently started voting against your own party/president but voters aren’t giving you any credit
2010: Year of Angry White Senior (‘08 Obama coalition of young/non-white voters stays home)
2018: Year of Angry Female College Grad (‘16 Trump base of non-college men not showing up)
And no, this rapid geopolarization isn't attributable to gerrymandering (though it's helped make partisan gerrymandering much more effective).
It doesn't matter which map format you prefer (dot, cartogram, etc.). The essential takeaway - the disappearance of purple America - is the same. fivethirtyeight.com/features/purpl…