Kansas City Star (8/27/21) on Whether Missouri Republicans Will Try to Increase Their Edge from 6-2 to 7-1 (MISSOURI)

The Kansas City Star examines whether the Missouri Legislature and governor will try to slice up Democrat Emanuel Cleaver's 5th District in the Kansas City area (no pun intended) to give the GOP a 7-1 edge in the state's U.S. House delegation rather than their current 6-2 margin (h/t Political Wire). Cleaver is African-American, as is Cori Bush, the state's only other Democratic U.S. representative, whose 1st District sits in the St. Louis area. The first-term Bush has gained a lot of attention recently for protesting the end of eviction moratoria across the country. As the Star article notes, however, "The 1st Congressional District is likely protected from 'discriminatory' changes by the federal Voting Rights Act because it is a majority-minority district, which makes it unlikely Republicans would be able to split it up." The topic of VRA-protected districts is one I would like to explore in greater depth as redistricting moves along across the country.

Five-Thirty-Eight (8/25/21) on Implications of Census Results (NATIONAL)

Five-Thirty-Eight ran a piece a few days ago entitled "Where America Lost And Gained Population Could Help Democrats In Redistricting." Because rural areas (which lean Republican) have lost population and urban and suburban areas (which lean Democratic) have gained people, these 2020 Census results help the Democrats. If, for example, an urban area has more people than can be contained in a Congressional district while a nearby rural area has fewer people than the target district size, the extra Democrats might have to go into the mainly rural district, making it more competitive than if there were no excess Democrats. Ultimately, the article argues, these favorable population trends for the Democrats are only a "silver lining" to an otherwise cloudy scenario, given that the GOP holds redistricting power (due to governorships and majorities in state legislatures) over more seats than do the Democrats.

Politico (8/26/21) on I-4 Corridor (FLORIDA)

Politico reports on the phenomenal population growth -- including among Hispanic residents -- along Interstate 4 and how it may affect redistricting as Florida expands from 27 to 28 seats in the U.S. House. As shown to the left, I-4 (in blue) runs from Tampa in the west to Orlando in the east, with Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties comprising a substantial part of this stretch of land (click for larger image).