Redistricting Shapes Pennsylvania Primaries

Redistricting remains a wild card in many House races this year, and Tuesday’s primary in Pennsylvania will provide the latest test. Two Democrats are ensnared in a member-on-member battle, and one will emerge with his political career fatally wounded. Other Democrats and Republicans are fighting off feisty outside challenges with a redistricting twist.

In the redrawn 12th District, north of Pittsburgh, Representatives Jason Altmire and Mark Critz, both Democrats, are battling one another to remain in office, while south of Pittsburgh, in the 18th District, Representative Tim Murphy, a Republican in his fifth term, is facing a primary challenge from Evan Feinberg, a former aide to some of the Senate’s most conservative members. Representative Tim Holden, a Democrat, is trying to fend off a newcomer, Matt Cartwright, for a seat in the redrawn 17th district.

Several other incumbents around the state, which is down to 18 districts after losing a seat in redistricting, are also facing primary battles, but these three races have attracted the most attention.

“Redistricting may be destiny here,” said David Wasserman, House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The new 12th District, drawn by Republicans, gives Mr. Altmire an advantage over Mr. Critz simply because Mr. Atlmire previously represented more than 60 percent of the district. Mr. Critz, in the sort of frenemy move that usually comes when members of different parties face off, tried, unsuccessfully, to get Mr. Altmire removed from the primary ballot by challenging his petition signatures.

Elected in 2006, Mr. Altmire has tried to run as a moderate; he voted against the health care bill, which has cost him some good will and likely votes with labor and other groups. Mr. Critz, elected in 2010 to serve the remainder of Representative John P. Murtha’s term after he died, touts his role as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

In the 17th district, Mr. Holden, a ten-term member of the House, is scrapping it out against Mr. Cartwright, a lawyer. “There is an ideological tinge because Cartwright is more liberal and Holden is a Blue Dog,” Mr. Wasserman explained. “But that’s not really the reason Holden’s vulnerable. It’s much more because of redistricting — Holden began the campaign pretty much unknown in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre portion of the district or 80 percent of the seat, whereas Cartwright has appeared in ads for his law firm there over the years.”

Mr. Holden, is also a target of the Campaign for Primary Accountability, a “super PAC” solely dedicated to defeating longtime incumbents of both parties that has already claimed a few scalps this primary season, in one case with the help of Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: April 24, 2012

An earlier version of this post misstated the year in which Representative Jason Altmire was elected to the House. It was 2006, not 1996. It also misstated the number of terms Representative Tim Holden has served in the House. He is now in his 10th term, not his ninth.

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In House Races, Redistricting a Hurdle for New York Democrats

The Democratic Party suddenly faces the prospect of having to play defense in pockets around the state this fall, as Congressional districts once considered safe for the party have become more vulnerable, partly as a result of new Congressional maps put in place by a federal court.

For months, national Democrats had been counting on gains in New York to help the party pick up a few of the 25 additional seats it needs to reclaim the House. The situation developing in New York could undermine that strategy. But top Democrats insist that their incumbents are in strong positions and that the party will pick up seats, particularly since President Obama is at the top of the ticket and remains popular throughout the state.

House Republicans face their own challenges in the state, as top Democrats in Washington point out. Several Republican incumbents — most of them freshmen who took office in 2010 with the Tea Party support — must defend their seats against potentially strong Democratic challengers.

The Democrats

Representative Kathy Hochul, District 27

A first-term Democrat, Ms. Hochul is considered among the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in New York. She achieved national prominence last year when she won a special election in a conservative district in the Buffalo area by turning the race into a referendum on a Republican proposal in Washington to overhaul Medicare.

The new Congressional map has made her district even more Republican, making her re-election prospects more difficult. Two Republicans are seeking the nomination to run against her: Chris Collins, the former Erie County executive; and David Bellavia, a veteran of the Iraq war and a Tea Party activist.

Representative Louise Slaughter, District 25

After serving nearly 25 years in Congress, Ms. Slaughter may be facing the most difficult challenge of her career. As a result of the new Congressional map, her district was consolidated into Monroe County, becoming slightly more Republican but still predominantly Democratic.

Now, Maggie A. Brooks, the popular Republican county executive in Monroe, has entered the race to unseat Ms. Slaughter, buoyed by the fact that her political base is in the heart of the congresswoman’s new district.

Representative Bill Owens, District 21

Mr. Owens, who represents this conservative district in northernmost upstate New York, initially won his seat in a 2009 special election and was re-elected the next year. In both instances, Mr. Owens won with less than 50 percent of the vote. And in both instances, his candidacy was helped by a third-party Conservative candidate who undercut the Republicans.

But that is unlikely to happen this year because Republicans and Conservatives appear to be coalescing behind Matthew A. Doheny, the Republican candidate who lost to Mr. Owens in 2010. Another Republican, Kellie Greene, is also seeking to run against Mr. Owens.

Representative Timothy H. Bishop, District 1

On Long Island, Mr. Bishop, a five-term Democrat, is girding for a rematch with Randy Altschuler, a successful Republican businessman who nearly defeated the congressman in 2010. Mr. Altschuler is an aggressive campaigner, having spent $2.9 million of his own money in 2010.

Mr. Altschuler got a lift recently when he received the endorsement of the Independence Party. That could make a difference, Republicans say, given that Mr. Altschuler lost to Mr. Bishop by a slim margin in the moderate district, which stretches across the eastern half of Long Island.

The Republicans

Representative Ann Marie Buerkle, District 24

Ms. Buerkle, a Republican, who won her seat in the Syracuse area in a big upset in 2010, is hoping to prove that her election was no fluke. But Republicans and Democrats alike say Ms. Buerkle, a Tea Party favorite, faces an uphill battle in the new district, which analysts say leans Democratic.

Ms. Buerkle is going up against the man she defeated in 2010, Dan Maffei, an aggressive campaigner who has already amassed about as much money as she has.

Representative Chris Gibson, District 19

The new Congressional map severely undercut Mr. Gibson, a first-term Republican who won in 2010. Mr. Gibson’s district went from being a Republican-leaning district to a swing district that Democrats believe they have a strong shot at picking up.

Mr. Gibson is facing a challenge by a political newcomer, Julian Schriebman, a former chairman of the Ulster County Democratic Party who is running on his experience as a federal prosecutor who tried terrorists.

Representative Nan Hayworth, District 18

In 2010, Ms. Hayworth, a first-term Republican from the suburbs north of New York City, won her seat with strong Tea Party support against a Democratic incumbent who fellow Democrats say underestimated her. But Democrats and independent analysts say she is vulnerable this year.

No fewer than four Democrats have lined up to run against her, including Sean Patrick Maloney, an aide to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Tom Wilson, the mayor of Tuxedo Park; Rich Becker, a town councilman in Cortlandt; and Matt Alexander, the mayor of Wappingers Falls.

Representative Michael G. Grimm, District 11

Mr. Grimm, a Republican who captured his seat in 2010 with strong support from the Tea Party, has found himself enmeshed in a controversy that Democrats say makes him vulnerable.

Mr. Grimm, who represents a district that includes Staten Island and part of western Brooklyn, has been facing intense scrutiny after The New York Times reported in January that his lead fund-raiser in the 2010 campaign was under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Some donors said Mr. Grimm and the fund-raiser indicated that they would accept illegal donations. Republicans have stood behind Mr. Grimm, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Democrats, in the meantime, are getting behind Mark Murphy, the son of a former congressman, after failing to recruit Michael E. McMahon, the candidate who lost to Mr. Grimm in 2010.

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Texas AG blasts court's redistricting maps (AP)

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas' attorney general sharply criticized a federal court Friday over its proposed maps for state House and Senate districts in the 2012 election, saying the judges overstepped their bounds.

The San Antonio-based federal court released the proposed redistricting maps late Thursday and gave those involved in the case until noon Friday to comment. Minority groups have filed a legal challenge to the Republican-drawn maps, saying they are discriminatory. The court's maps are intended to be an interim solution until the case is resolved after the 2012 elections.

Maps for the House and Senate released Thursday restore many of the minority districts — where Democrats hold the seats — to their previous shapes. Republican lawmakers have denied their maps were intended to minimize minority representation, and say they merely reflect the GOP majority in Texas.

In his filing, Attorney General Gregg Abbot said the court went too far in redrawing the Legislature's maps.

"A court's job is to apply the law, not to make policy," Abbott wrote in his objection to the proposed House map. "A federal court lacks the constitutional authority to interfere with the expressed will of the state Legislature unless it is compelled to remedy a specific identifiable violation of law."

Abbott argued that there is no violation of law. Included in his court filing were letters and emails from 18 Republican lawmakers and two Democrats objecting to portions of the court-drawn House map.

The objections by the Republican attorney general and lawmakers followed praise by many Democrats on Thursday night. But two Democrats, Representatives Senfronia Thompson and Harold Dutton, objected to the court's version of their House Districts 141 and 142 in Harris County

"The traditional communities of interest, which have existed since 1972, are destroyed under the court's plan," Dutton said. Thompson said her district was fundamentally changed by removing a key neighborhood from it.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, also denounced the court's state Senate maps. As the leader of the Senate, he supervised the creation of the district map for that chamber.

"The Senate's map was not hastily crafted, but was the product of careful balancing and intense negotiation by the senators," Dewhurst said in a letter Friday. "The court's proposed interim map completely disregards the careful work of the members of the Senate."

Since 1965, Texas has been subject to the Voting Rights Act, which requires states with a history of racial discrimination to first gain approval from the Department of Justice or a federal court before instituting new political districts. A federal court in Washington rejected Abbott's request to give approval to the legislative and congressional maps drawn by the Legislature, and the Department of Justice has called the method for drafting the maps seriously flawed.

The courts have played a role in drafting every legislative or congressional redistricting map in Texas since 1970.

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Michigan Democrats switch congressional districts to circumvent redistricting woes (The Ticket)

Conyers (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

A Republican-led congressional redistricting plan in Michigan has complicated the re-election plans of John Conyers and Hansen Clarke, two Democratic representatives from the state. But the lawmakers have found a novel way to avoid that challenge: they're switching their Detroit-area districts.

"Rep. Hansen Clarke looks forward to running for reelection in the new 14th congressional district of Michigan!," freshman Clarke tweeted Sunday.

The 14th district is currently represented by Conyers, a longtime member of the House. Clarke represents the neighboring 13th District. But their newly-drawn districts are much different, meaning they would have to introduce themselves to a host of new constituents and possibly face primary challenges from Democrats.

The switch benefits both men, but more significantly Conyers, whose base is located in the new 13th and who would have faced a primary against Clarke or outside challenges in the 14th.

Conyers, who has been serving since 1965, made no public statement regarding the switch, though sources tell Politico he supports the maneuver.

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Redistricting could mean trouble for Michigan Dems (Daily Caller)

Elections have consequences. Especially in a redistricting year. And Michigan Democrats are learning that the hard way.

The Republican Party of Michigan has proposed how it would like to see the redistricting process go, Roll Call reports. And unsurprisingly, the party has done what it can to keep as many of Michigan’s seats in the House of Representatives safely in Republican hands.

Due to population loss in the last decade, Michigan will be stripped of a House seat, and Republicans have re-shaped the state’s districts in a way that two districts represented by Democrats will become one. This sets the stage for a tough election between Democrats Sander Levin and Gary Peters.

The two released a join statement calling on Michigan’s state legislature (controlled by Republicans) and Gov. Rick Snyder (a Republican) to reject the proposal. “We’ve talked it over and we both deeply feel that our priority must be to get these maps changed for the betterment of democracy…This is indefensible,” Levin told reporters.

Meanwhile, one Michigan political analyst told Roll Call that the new map was fair. Republicans have been “surprisingly generous,” said Bill Ballenger, “compared to what they might have tried to do.”

(Iowa Gov. Branstad will sign redistricting plan into law)

Under the new plan, five Republican representatives will see more GOP voters moved into their district, while others who already represent solidly Republican areas won’t see much change.

The legislature hopes to vote on the new map soon, getting it to the governor’s desk for a signature before Independence Day.

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