Category Archives: Apportionment

Potential Republican Gain in LA Likely to Last Only 2 Years

The national nominating cycle finally drew to a close this past Saturday evening with an easy 65-35% Republican run-off victory for attorney Jeff Landry. He defeated former state House Speaker Hunt Downer in the open Louisiana-3 district, the seat Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) is vacating to challenge Sen. David Vitter (R).

Back in August, Landry came within a fraction of a percentage point of winning the nomination outright, but the fact that he did not exceed 50% plus one vote necessitated the second election. Since Mr. Landry came so close to victory against Downer, who was originally viewed to be the favorite, and several others, the eventual run-off result became a foregone conclusion.

Landry now faces Democratic attorney Ravi Sangisetty in a campaign projected to be a Republican conversion win. But the November election is not the biggest political obstacle to having a long congressional career for one of the new nominees to face. The winner will likely hold the seat for only two years because reapportionment is almost assuredly going to reduce the size of the Louisiana congressional delegation by one district. With population changes, the fact that LA-2 just to the north is a protected Civil Rights district and needs to gain people, and the territory borders the Gulf of Mexico, there is little other option but to collapse the 3rd district when the state’s new congressional map is drawn. Nothing is certain when it comes to politics and redistricting, but the chances of the 3rd district being next year’s apportionment victim are high.

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Apportionment Changes Predicted

A new Election Data Services report detects changes in the predicted numbers of congressional seats that states will receive in the 2010 apportionment. The Census Bureau will officially announce the actual count in late December.

Previously, EDS and Polidata, Inc., the latter with offices in both Vermont and Washington, DC, each predicted that only two states would gain or lose more than one seat. Texas is slated for four new districts, bringing the Lone Star State total to 36 Representatives. Ohio is virtually assured of losing two, dropping their delegation to a total of 16 members.

Now, however, it appears that Florida, already predicted to gain one seat, will add a second new district. This will come at the expense of New York, which will now apparently drop a second seat instead of the one that was originally projected. Should these predictions prove accurate, both states will enter the new apportionment decade with 27 congressional districts (CDs).