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.