A Tale of Maps

 

Abuse and revenge. That's the pattern of Democratic and Republican gerrymandering for the last 20-some years in North Carolina.

I love maps, especially historical ones and most especially historical ones that show changes to landmasses over time, like "The Roman Empire At Its Height" and "The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire." Today, it's "The Evolution of North Carolina Gerrymandering" put together by Carolina Forward -- a compilation of historic maps of Congressional districts under both parties, analyzing how Ds and Rs fared. (Blair Reeves has built Carolina Forward into a go-to source for new data and for endorsements of General Assembly candidates. Reeves' frequent videos on Facebook are always enlightening about what's really happening in our state.)

Map 1, the last gerrymander of the Dem bosses before the Tea Party eruption of 2010, still makes me wince. The abuse looks palpable. But as the analysis points out, that gerrymander actually produced majorities of Republican reps in some 2-year cycles and a near-even swap in others. The election of 2008 stands out for its Democratic surge, which elected 8 Dems to 5 GOP House members. You might note that 8 Dem reps serving 2009-2011 is the highest Dem count in the last 20+ years. With improved computer programs, the GOP has done much more advanced gerrymandering, managing to arrange us voters so there are now 10 Rs to 4 Ds (Maps 2 and 4). Map 3, the court-appointed one that lasted only one election cycle, produced the first even split between the parties -- 7 Ds to 7 Rs. 

Those were the days, my friends! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Carolina Forward

 

Blair Reeves, who was the visionary behind last year's Long Leaf Pine Slate, proved himself an adept at raising independent money for a slate of some 19 Democratic candidates running for the NC Senate and House. Reeves vetted those candidates and shared their stories with an expanding base of progressives.

Because of the Trump effect, only two of those 19 made it to the General Assembly. Blair Reeves is determined to do better. The fight is still very much in him. So he's rolled over his experiment in fundraising into a 501(c)4, "a progressive policy non-profit" he's calling Carolina Forward. Here's the new website, where you can also donate (which I just did).

In his announcement email this morning, Reeves writes:

Let us not mince words: the 2010s were a disaster for North Carolina families, schools, workers, its environment, and (especially) vulnerable communities. If we are to avoid a second decade of more of the same, we must expand, and redouble, our fight. Most importantly, we must change tactics. The same old, tired approaches and strategies and playbooks simply will no longer do. They are not working. It’s time for something different.

We need new ideas, as well as better ways to distribute them. We must develop a deeper bench of younger leaders across the state who understand that the old rules of the game have changed and that partisan politics have evolved. There is generational change happening all over our country, and it’s time that wave came to North Carolina politics. Carolina Forward will invest in these priorities so that when the next election cycle comes around, our dollars can go even further in winning hearts, minds, and most importantly, votes.

We saw in 2020 some outstanding young candidates emerge all over the state, and Reeves intends to nurture more of them, so we expect that Carolina Forward will be participating in candidate recruitment as much as candidate fundraising.