Latest news with #CookPartisanVotingIndex
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Dems face scrutiny over congressional representation gaps in blue states: 'Don't have clean hands'
Several Democratic states are facing scrutiny over their own congressional maps amid the push back to Texas redistricting efforts. Specifically, numerous states had a significant percentage vote for President Donald Trump in 2024 but have little or no congressional representation for Republicans. For example, Trump won nearly 46% of the vote in New Mexico, but none of the state's three seats are held by Republicans. Currently, the Cook Partisan Voting Index is even for the Second Congressional District, which is considered highly competitive. The current maps were kept after a ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court despite gerrymandering concerns. Connecticut voted nearly 42% for the president but has no seats that Republicans won in 2024. Illinois is considered one of the most gerrymandered states, with Republicans currently only holding three of 17 seats, which is considered a 26% advantage to Democrats. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has stood in support of the efforts of Texas Democrats to leave the state to thwart redistricting votes, faced questioning from late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert about the current map. "If you are considering doing a little more redrawing in Illinois, you already have some crazy districts in Illinois. Take a look at this. Look at [district] 17 here. It does that, then it comes up here, and it sneaks around there and goes all the way up here and then goes right over there like that," Colbert said on the Illinois map last week. "Is this common for all states to do?" Pritzker said it was up to the independent redistricting commission, but said the way Texas seeks to redraw its maps mid-decade is problematic. "That is extraordinarily rare," Pritzker said. "And the way they are doing it is taking voting rights away from Black and Brown people. They are literally obliterating districts that were written according to the Voting Rights Act. So this is going to end up in court if they are actually able to do it." California saw Trump win 38% of the vote but just nine out of 52 congressional seats, or 17%. This is considered a 21% Democratic advantage in seats as the state considers adding five Democratic seats to counteract Texas, with a special election for voter approval being scheduled for November. "We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what's happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference last week. New York has a 13% Democratic lead in seats, with seven out of 26 currently having Republican representation, and Trump won 43% of the vote in the state. Oregon has a 24% Democratic lead while the Trump wing has 41% of the vote there. New Jersey saw Trump at 46% of the vote, but the state only has three Republicans out of the 12 congressional seats, and Maryland has only one Republican representative despite 34% of the vote going toward the president, placing the state at a 22% Democratic advantage with eight districts in total. Republican states have also faced their fair share of gerrymandering lawsuits in the past, but Democratic strategist Julian Epstein pointed out on "Fox News Live" over the weekend that Democrats are not immune from criticism on the issue. "No, I think they don't have the moral authority, and there's a lot of pearl-clutching going on," he said. "The Democrats don't have clean hands here. You look at states like Massachusetts, New Jersey[…] Illinois, California, and Democrats have effectively gerrymandered Republicans out of existence," Epstein added. Many Texas House Democrats remain out of the state to prevent a quorum that would permit the redistricting plan to move forward in the Lone Star State, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says those members will likely be subject to arrest upon their return. "We have a situation where lawmakers are violating the law in Article 3 of the Texas Constitution, where they are required to act on bills. Because they're violating that constitutional mandate, that means they are not fulfilling their oath of office, and they can be removed from office in this legal action that I'm taking," he told "Fox News Sunday."
Epoch Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Tommy Tuberville Will Leave Senate to Run for Governor of Alabama
WASHINGTON—Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) will not seek re-election in 2026 and will, instead, run for governor of Alabama. Tuberville was elected to the United States Senate in 2020 and is serving his first term in the body. He is best known for being the coach of the college football team at Auburn University, one of Alabama's two major universities, with the sport being very popular in the state. A campaign website was established in his name on May 27. Tuberville formally on 'The Will Cain Show' later that day. 'I will be the future governor of the great state of Alabama,' Tuberville said. 'I'm a football coach, I'm a leader, I'm a builder, I'm a recruiter, and we're going to grow Alabama,' he noted. Tuberville will not resign from the Senate in order to run for the election. Despite the commute required between Washington and Alabama, he said that he would campaign on weekends for the Republican Party's nomination in the election. 'I'll be running every weekend, doing the things I need to do to make sure I can get over the threshold and win this governor's race, come back to Alabama, and work with President [Donald] Trump ... because he's fully supportive of this,' Tuberville said. Related Stories 5/2/2025 4/29/2025 Trump has made no public statements to this effect. Tuberville's decision not to seek a second term in the Senate creates an 'open primary' contest for the Republican nomination in that election. Alabama has one of the most conservative statewide electorates in the United States, and no Democrat currently holds statewide office. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of 'R+15,' it is likely that the winner of the Republican nomination will win the general election. Tuberville's , as published on his website, is described as 'Alabama First' and articulates standard conservative agenda on issues such as transgenderism, taxes, tariffs on trade, border security, school choice, and the Second Amendment. Additionally, he has emphasized the need to retain college graduates in the state's workforce. 'We're going to do everything possible to make sure our kids, when they've graduated in this great state, the Yellowhammer State, that they stay in this state and work,' Tuberville said.
