Republicans are in a state of “buyers’ remorse” after President Donald Trump’s demands for them to redraw congressional districts to give themselves extra seats backfired.
According to Axios, “What began as an effort to create more GOP-controlled seats — and avoid a Democratic takeover that would weaken President Trump — now could be a wash, or even add to Democrats’ edge. At Trump’s request, Republicans kicked off the unusual mid-decade redistricting push in Texas. But that effort triggered counter-moves in Democrat-led California and Virginia, where voters on Tuesday approved a new map that could leave the GOP with just one seat, down from five.”
A number of Republican lawmakers have lamented that this process has not gone in their favor — and that it was predictable.
“I think it is a mistake in hindsight,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). “They thought they could just do Texas and nobody else is gonna respond? We started a war, and you’ve got to play chess, think three or four moves ahead.” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) agreed, saying, “I don’t think it’s favorable for anybody in America, redistricting. It’s a race to the bottom.”
Meanwhile, Kevin Kiley, an independent who left but still caucuses with the Republican Party, has been warning the GOP for months this situation would blow up. “I wish none of this had happened,” he told Axios.
Republicans are currently set to debate another round of redistricting in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has encouraged them to go big and carve themselves extra seats. But GOP lawmakers there are already concerned another redraw of their already heavily-gerrymandered map could backfire by creating more competitive seats.
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