State fair season is still a few months away. But tracking this year’s congressional races resembles riding a Tilt-A-Whirl: cars zigging and zagging freely in a spinning aerial circle that leaves you feeling dizzy.
The dazed sensation defines the current rampant redistricting rivalry between Republicans and Democrats over consolidating political power prior to November’s midterm elections.
District boundaries are normally reset by state legislatures or commissions every 10 years to reflect the nation’s decennial census population changes. Not so this time.
President Donald Trump set off a middle of the decade gerrymandering war in August by ordering red Texas to break with tradition and create five additional GOP-leaning districts to help his party retain control of the U. S. House.
Blue California countered with a statewide vote carving out five remapped House districts favorable to Democrats.
Now other states have joined the fray. The Supreme Court has also weighed in with a recent decision barring district lines based on racial minority representation.
No state has faced the quake more than Virginia. Congressional districts there were redrawn to favor Democrats after a ballot initiative passed on April 21. The Virginia Supreme Court promptly dismissed the changes because early primary election voting, based on the existing districts, preceded the initiative election.
One candidate running in Virginia’s 6th District, which spans the Shenandoah Valley, is Democrat Beth Macy. She’s a former journalist who has never run for office. The fast-changing events caused her to launch and relaunch her campaign to replace Republican Rep. Ben Cline.
Despite the confusion, Macy feels voters are paying attention to the issues, especially the cost of living, and they want a fair fight, not one with a predetermined outcome.
“I’m just game on!” she said. “Rural voters are looking at everything. What matters most is the economy and gas prices. Voters are driving to work, and diesel is $6 a gallon.”
So far eight states have new congressional maps: Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Florida and Tennessee. Newsweek reports that Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina are also pursuing new maps, court challenges or legislative action that could reshape House representation before the midterm elections..
That’s 19 states out of 50 where congressional maps were changed, change was rejected, or change is under consideration.
The partisan gamesmanship has rendered the most midterm gerrymandered congressional maps in American history. It is unclear which party stands to benefit the most.
Questions abound.
Will some voters even know what congressional district they are in? Will turnout be higher or lower than past midterm norms? Will the tradition of the party holding the White House lose House seats continue? Will voter backlash affect candidates in newly gerrymandered districts? Will the economy be the major election factor?
The answers await the midterm results.
In the meantime, we can ponder the outcome soon enough at a state fair, enjoying the entertainment and jumping on the Tilt-A-Whirl. Or perhaps the Gravitron, where a huge force keeps riders pinned against the wall as the floor drops out.