The Democratic Party is whining about a new Texas Republican Party map released Wednesday that would turn the current 12-seat Republican advantage (25-13) in the House delegation to a 22-seat (30-8) advantage.
Democrats are promising to fight the new map in court and threatening to gerrymander their own states to give Democrats a similar partisan advantage.
The problem is, all of the most populated Democratic states are gerrymandered already! Here are the top five most gerrymandered states in the country (minimum 10 House seats):
The first is Illinois, where 82% of its 17 House seats go to Democrats (14-3). Democrats won 55% of the presidential vote in 2024, leaving a 27-point gap between their overall state partisan advantage and their advantage in House seats.
The second is California, where 83% of its 52 House seats go to Democrats (43-9). Democrats won 59% of the presidential vote in 2024, leaving a 24-point gap between their overall state partisan advantage and their advantage in House seats.
The third is New Jersey, where 75% of its 12 House seats go to Democrats (9-3). Democrats won 52% of the presidential vote in 2024, leaving a 23-point gap between their overall state partisan advantage and their advantage in House seats.
The fourth is North Carolina, where 71% of its 14 House seats go to Republicans (10-4). Republicans won 51% of the presidential vote in 2024, leaving a 20-point gap between their overall state partisan advantage and their advantage in House seats.
The fifth is New York, where 73% of its 26 House seats go to Democrats (19-7). Democrats won 56% of the presidential vote in 2024, leaving a 17-point gap between their overall state partisan advantage and their advantage in House seats.
Currently, there is only a 10-point gap between the Republican presidential vote share in Texas (56%) and the percentage of seats they control in the House delegation (25 of 38 or 66%). If Texas Republicans adopt their new map, that gap would widen to 23 points (79% to 56%), which would still make Texas LESS gerrymandered than California already is.
Considering that the census made a huge mistake in 2020, overcounting people in Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Rhode Island (all Democratic states), while undercounting in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas (all Republican states), costing Republicans a net six House seats, Democrats should not be complaining about unfair advantages in House elections.
Democrats are not only every bit as guilty of drawing partisan congressional maps as Republicans, they are far more guilty of it. If anything, the new Texas map would only move toward leveling what is currently an unfair playing field.