Pennsylvania Supreme Court Gives Democrats a Boost in 2018 Midterms

The court threw out Republican-drawn congressional maps and ordered new maps drawn.

Pennsylvania’s 7th congressional district, drawn to help Republicans maintain a political edge.Mother Jones; National Atlas

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Republican-drawn state congressional map is illegally gerrymandered to benefit the GOP, ordering new maps ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The decision in one of the country’s most closely watched redistricting battles will provide a boost to Democrats seeking to retake the House of Representatives by giving the party an opportunity to pick up Republican-held seats.

In 2011, Republicans who had swept into power in the wave election the previous November drew one of the country’s most aggressive gerrymanders. Now, Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity to Democrats in 2018. As Mother Jones previously reported:

While Pennsylvania has roughly equal numbers of Democratic and Republican voters (Donald Trump won here by just 44,000 votes out of more than 6 million cast), for the last six years its congressional delegation has been made up of 13 Republicans and just five Democrats, who mostly represent Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. As Democrats scour the country for the approximately two dozen candidates and winnable districts they’ll need to take back the House, a redrawn congressional map in Pennsylvania could present the party with some prime opportunities to pick up seats.

Monday’s order requires the state’s Republican-led general assembly to draw a new map by February 9 and submit it to the governor—a Democrat—for approval. If the assembly fails to produce any map, or if the governor does not approve it, the state supreme court will produce its own map. The US Supreme Court could block Monday’s decision, but because it involves the interpretation of the Pennsylvania state constitution, such interference with the state court ruling is unlikely. 

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate