Indiana’s state House has released its proposed map for Indiana’s congressional districts. It’s nothing geometrically offensive enough to call a gerrymander, but its stark political differences from the old map — which was drawn to maximize Democrats’ chances — are worth noting.
Recommended Stories
In the 2010 election, Indiana went from having five to just three Democratic House incumbents — Joe Donnelly (South Bend), Andre Carson (Indianapolis) and Pete Visclosky (Chicago suburbs). The Republicans’ proposed map makes Visclosky’s district much more Democratic, makes Donnelly’s district much more Republican, and makes Carson potentially vulnerable in a good Republican year. It also shores up the two new Republican incumbents in the south of the state.
Don’t be surprised if Donnelly announces for Senate — an uphill run, both given the state’s overall Republican lean and the perennial inability of South Bend Democrats to win statewide. (It hasn’t happened in nearly a century, if I recall correctly.)
Instead of cramming all of the Republican Indianapolis suburbs into two strange-looking districts, as the Democrats did in 2001, the new map divides the capital’s surrounding counties between four districts. The result is that the district once held by Rep. Baron Hill, R-Ind., gains some very Republican areas to counterbalance liberal Bloomington, home of Indiana University.
The state’s “Bloody Eighth” District remains competitive, but only for a very conservative Democrat in a good year, as before.
