Kamala's Ridiculous Redistricting

[Kamala]

Hello all. After I played around with Dave's redistricting app, I realized it was time to post my (humorous) project here. My goal is to create ridiculous, ugly maps of congressional districts for 2010.

Specifically, my goals were to:
1. Ugly maps that remain with a general similarity to the real maps.
2. Create as many small, dense congressional district with one gigantic, extremely rural district.

Just a final reminder, these are not meant to be serious.

If any mod decides that a different subforum would be a better location for this, go ahead and move it. Thank you in advance.


Anyway, here's my first (horrific) creation: Colorado.

Full map


Denver


Grand Junction and western Colorado


Second District


Fifth District


1st District, D+19
-Denver centric, actually very similar to the real 1st District.
-56% white, 30% Hispanic, 9% black
-2008 Result: Obama 72% - McCain 26%
-Safe D

2nd District, D+9
-Super snaky and noncompact district consisting of northern Broomfield, Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins, and Greeley
-73% white, 21% Hispanic
-2008 Result: Obama 62% - McCain 36%
-Safe D

3rd District, R+8
-From Grand Junction in the west, to surrounding Denver exurbs in the east,
-79% white, 16% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 54% - Obama 45%
-Safe R

4th District, R+8
-Very large, very rural, "Everything Else" district
-78% white, 18% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 53% - Obama 45%
-Safe R

5th District, R+8
-Colorado Springs-anchored, with Pueblo and Cañon City
-67% white, 21% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 54% - Obama 45%
-Safe R

6th District, R+2
-Southern Denver suburban district, Aurora, Lone Tree
-67% white, 17% Hispanic, 8%
-2008 Result: Obama 51% - McCain 48%
-Tossup/Tilt R

7th District, D+3
-Western Denver suburbs, southern Broomfield, Golden, Lakewood, Westminster.
-70% white, 23% Hispanic
-2008 Result: Obama 56% - McCain 42%
-Lean D


Hilariously, the D-R balance remained the same, with Mike Coffman's hypothetical district being the most competitive. I think that the new 6th district would've also become a Democrat-leaning one after 2016. I'm most proud of the gigantic 4th district, and how interestingly it isn't any more radically R-leaning than the 3rd or 5th.

[Kamala]

South Carolina

Full map


Charleston/1st District


Columbia/2nd District


Myrtle Beach / Lowcountry


Upcountry


York Country


Greenville / Spartanburg



1st District, R+5
-Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island
-64% white, 25% Black, 7% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 51% - Obama 48%
Likely R

2nd District, EVEN
-Columbia, Sumter, and Camden
-55% white, 36% Black, 5% Hispanic
-2008 Result: Obama 53% - McCain 46%
TOSSUP

3rd District, R+21
-"Everything Else" district of the Upcountry
-79% white, 15% Black, 4% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 66% - Obama 32%
Safe R

4th District, R+13
-Anchored in Greenville, stretches from Clemson and Anderson to Spartanburg, Gaffney, and Tega Cay
-68% white, 21% Black, 7% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 58% - Obama 40%
Safe R

5th District, R+7
-Southern York County, Rock Hill, Greenwood, Newberry, Florence, stretches along the North Carolina border to Myrtle Beach
-63% white, 29% Black, 5% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 53% - Obama 46%
Safe R

6th District, R+14
-Georgia border, from Hardeeville, to North Augusta, Aiken, and Oconee County
-68% white, 24% Black, 6% Hispanic
-2008 Result: McCain 60% - Obama 39%
Safe R

7th District, D+2
-"Everything Else" district for the Lowcountry, anchored by Orangeburg
-51% white, 44% Black, 3% Hispanic
-2008 Result: Obama 55% - McCain 44%
Lean D



So, I feel dirty by posting this map. Regardless, this moderates all districts except for the 3rd.  This means the Democrats lose their safe VRA district, but gain one that leans towards them and one that is/was competitive.

I think this map was less successful than Colorado's.

Interestingly, I think with this map, Lizzy Colbert Busch (Stephen Colbert's sister) might have actually won the special election in 2013. I think there's a chance Parnell wins the 5th district election, seeing as the new district has about 1% more black voters - which could've been the needed swing to win.

[Kamala]

Forgot to ask - which state would you like to see ruined next? I've got Utah in the works.

[Kamala]

Oh, and one thing: the Columbia-centric CD on your SC map has an Obama % that is really too high to make it Lean R. Arguably, it could be Lean Dem.

You're right. For some reason I thought SC trended away from Dems in 2012 - it actually trended towards them.

[Kamala]

Last one for the night: Utah

Full map


1st District


Salt Lake County / 4th District


Utah County / 3rd District



1st District, R+24
- From Logan in the north to North Salt Lake City in the south
- 83% white, 12% Hispanic
- 2008 Results: McCain 68% - Obama 29%
Safe R

2nd District, R+26
- "Everything Else" district, I approximate around 95+% of Utah's area
- 85% white, 10% Hispanic, 2% Native American
- 2008 Results: McCain 70% - Obama 27%
Safe R

3rd District, R+27
- From West Jordan to Provo and Springville
- 84% white, 10% Hispanic, 3% Asian
- 2008 Results: McCain 71% - Obama 26%
Safe R

4th District, D+2
- Salt Lake City-anchored district, extending south to Holladay, Taylorsville, and Midvale
- 70% white, 20% Hispanic, 5% Asian
- 2008 Results: Obama 55% - McCain 42%
Likely D


Hooray! A Dem-leaning district in Utah, although one that I think would fall under Romney's coattails - although it might not, if Matheson permanently resides in it. The rest of the district have become even safer for Republicans.

I feel bad for whomever ends up representing the 2nd District, seeing as it's just Utah desert with tiny towns. 

[Kamala]

North Carolina, wowee. Maybe the NCGOP can hire me now.

Full map


Raleigh-Durham Metro / 4th District


Greensboro, Winston Salem, Asheboro / 6th District


Charlotte Metro / 12th District


Asheville / western part of 10th District


Fayetteville Metro / western part of 2nd District


Wilmington / eastern part of 2nd District


Greenville, Goldsboro, Wilson / northern part of 2nd District



1st District, D+5
- Similar to current 1st District but snakes around northern suburbs of Durham and Raleigh
- 54% white, 36% black, 6% Hispanic, 3% Asian
- 2008 Result : Obama 58% - McCain 41%
Safe D

2nd District, D+4
- X marks the spot!
- Contains the cities of Wilmington, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Greenville, New Bern, and Rocky Mount
- 52% white, 36% black, 7% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : Obama 57% - McCain 42%
Safe D

3rd District, R+12
- Outer Banks, with tails extending out to Orange and Person counties. Inverse of 2nd district.
- 68% white, 21% black, 9% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 59% - Obama 41%
Safe R

4th District, D+16
- Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill urban areas
- 54% white, 26% black, 12% Hispanic, 6% Asian
- 2008 Result : Obama 69% - McCain 31%
Safe D

5th District, R+15
- Northwestern North Carolina. Boring af
- 83% white, 9% black, 6% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 61% - Obama 38%
Safe R

6th District, D+8
- Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Asheboro, and Burlington
- 52% white, 31% black, 11% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : Obama 61% - McCain 39%
Safe D

7th District, R+9
- Fairly bland southeastern district, partially surrounds the 2nd District's arm
- 63% white, 19% black, 7% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 56% - Obama 44%
Safe R

8th District, R+8
- Central district, covers southern suburbs of Raleigh-Durham
- 70% white, 16% black, 10% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 54% - Obama 45%
Safe R

9th District, R+12 (electric blue district)
- Southern district, Union county anchored.
- 69% white, 18% black, 8% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 59% - Obama 41%
Safe R

10th District, R+4
- Snaky district stretching from Hendersonville and Asheville to Charlotte suburbs and Lexington
- Heath Shuler could've probably held on for a while in this district a la Collin Peterson
- 71% white, 16% black, 9% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 50% - Obama 49%
TOSSUP/Tilt R

11th District, R+13
- Appalachia , west of 10th district 
- 86% white, 6% black, 4% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 58% - Obama 40%
Safe R

12th District, D+12
- Charlotte urban area
- 46% white, 34% black, 13% Hispanic, 5% Asian
- 2008 Result : Obama 65% - McCain 34%
Safe D

13th District, R+17
- District which sits north of the 10th and the 6th, sandwiched under the 5th.
- 81% white, 10% black, 6% Hispanic
- 2008 Result : McCain 63% - Obama 36%
Safe R



I guess I won't get a job with the NCGOP - I potentially doubled the amount of seats the Democrats can hold. The second district is fun - X marks the spot. I think Heath Shuler would've survived in his new district. Unfortunately, there are no African-American majority or plurality districts.


Peebs, which district are you living in? 

[Kamala]

F[inks], wikimedia is gonna delete the image uploads.

[Kamala]

This isn't that ridiculous, but it's a Democrat 24 - Republican 22 state senate for South Carolina.

[Kamala]

Here's a Republican gerrymandered Maryland.


MD-01 - R+11
MD-02 - D+31
MD-03 - R+5
MD-04 - D+21
MD-05 - R+8
MD-06 - R+10
MD-07 - D+29
MD-08 - D+34


Detail

[Kamala]

Oops, I made my gerrymander of Maryland even more republican, 5R-3D

CD-01 D+37
CD-02 D+22
CD-03 D+36
CD-04 R+5
CD-05 R+5
CD-06 R+3
CD-07 R+6
CD-08 R+3

Of course, all of these R-districts are winnable by Democrats... but don't let any of the MDGOP get their hands on these.

[Kamala]

Nice maps. How do you make these?

Dave's redistricting app.

[Kamala]

Nice maps. How do you make these?

Dave's redistricting app.

Where is it?

http://www.gardow.com/davebradlee/redistricting/launchapp.html

Doesn't work with chrome, I think.

[Kamala]

Washington State - sorry for poor numbering, but
Also sorry for violating the Cascade Rule but I wanted to see what I can do.

WA-01 D+31
Compact Seattle-based district. Could potentially elect a Socialist, lol.

WA-02 D+12
Bellevue and other suburbs

WA-03 D+6
North of Seattle, Sohomish County

WA-04 D+3
"Rest of King and Pierce Counties" district, swing-y I guess.

WA-05 D+4
Tacoma-based

[color=lightseagreen]WA-06[/color] D+3
Puget Sound islands district, as well as Billingham and Burlington.

WA-07 R+2
Vancouver-to-Yakima. Potential for a swing or a Shea-Porter/Guinta situation.

WA-08 D+2
Olympia and the Olympic Peninsula.

WA-09 R+5
Spokane to beyond the Cascades. A conservative Democrat could probably hold this district a la Peterson. Lisa Brown?

WA-10 R+14
Southeast Washington.

[Kamala]

Out of curiosity, how are you measuring D+ and R+ numbers? It's not the same as the 2008 numbers in DRA.

I might be doing this wrong, but it's Obama Vote - 52.9. Positive numbers are D+s, obviously.

[Kamala]

Pennsylvania

CD-01 - D+4
Chester County based, extends into neighboring counties as well.

CD-02 - D+8
Delaware County and South Philly

CD-03 - D+1
Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York

CD-04 - D+4
Wayne, Lackawanna, Pike, Monroe counties with parts of Luzerne and Carbon.

CD-05 - R+13
North-central-east PA.

CD-06 - D+6
Allentown, Reading, Pottsville

CD-07 - D+2
Eastern Bucks and Northampton counties

CD-08 - D+7
Montgomery County, North Philly, and parts of Bucks county.

CD-09 - D+33
Philadelphia

CD-10 - D+22
West Philly, Montgomery County to Allentown suburbs.

CD-11 - R+11
Rural SE PA.

CD-12 - R+4
Central PA.

CD-13 - D+2
Erie, along OH border, to NW Pittsburgh.

CD-14 - D+8
Northern Pittsburgh, New Kensington, Lower Burrell.

CD-15 - D+1
Southern Pittsburgh, parts of Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette and Green counties

CD-16 - R+17
Northwestern PA.

CD-17 - R+18
Southern PA.

CD-18 - R+15
York, Adams, Perry, and Dauphin county-based.

Overall, 12 D, 8R. More likely: 8D, 7 R, 5 Tossup/swing.

[Kamala]

Massachusetts

The question: can one make a Republican-leaning district in Massachusetts?

The answer: Kill me.

MA-01 - R+5
MA-02 - D+30
MA-03 - D+15
MA-04 - D+8
MA-05 - D+7
MA-06 - D+7
MA-07 - D+5
MA-08 - D+10
MA-09 - D+14

[Kamala]

It's kinda like a giant version of the former earmuffs district, IL-04.

[Kamala]

Connecticut

Looks like Massachusetts isn't the only state with Ugly Republican District potential. McCain wins the Republican district by fewer than 2,000 votes, and Obama wins the rest with over 60% of the vote.

CT-01 - R+4
CT-02 - D+10
CT-03 - D+11
CT-04 - D+14
CT-05 - D+9


For some reason, I think this is the kinda thing that Krazen wanks to.

[Kamala]

Rhode Island


Rhode Island and Providence Plantations are impervious to Republican hackery. Even at its worst, still ends up with 2 D districts.

Are they continuous? Technically, yes (?) The 1st district is continuous over water by way of Narraganset Bay into Newport, then by Conanicut Island to the other piece on the mainland. The 2nd district's inner islands are connected easily, and the the rest of Aquidneck Island and the eastern mainland by Rhode Island Sound. Block Island is part of the 1st District.

RI-01 - D+20
RI-02 - D+3

The second district could probably be won by Republicans in a good year.

[Kamala]

New Mexico



I must really love you all, because it's a two for one day special.

Most people try to do 3D-0R Map for New Mexico, but I tried doing the opposite: 2R-1D.

NM-01 - D+23
NM-02 - R+4
NM-03 - R+7

Obama wins the 1st with more than 3/4 of the vote, McCain wins the second by fewer than 2,500 votes, and McCain wins the third by nearly 20,000 votes.

[Kamala]

Kamala, you inspired me to make a 7R-4D-1 LoBiondo map for NJ.
I don't want to hijack your thread, but I'd be happy to show it.

Go for it.

[Kamala]

Hold on to your dick, Krazen.


Colorado



Denver metro detail



I mean overall this is not much worse than the real map (3D, 4R) delegation, although the districts are (4D, 3R).

CO-01 - D+25
CO-02- D+18
CO-3 - R+5
CO-4 - R+4
CO-05 - R+4.5
CO-06 - R+7
CO-07 - R+12

[Kamala]

Virginia - Dem-heavy Redistricting



VA-01 R+13
VA-02 D+4
VA-03 D+4
VA-04 D+3
VA-05 D+6
VA-06 R+13
VA-07 D+6
VA-08 D+20
VA-09 R+20
VA-10 D+3.5
VA-11 D+4


NoVA is a little ugly, but I think it's a decently strong gerrymander.

[Kamala]

Just 2010 numbers, although the NOVA districts are a little underpopulated to account for population increase.

[Kamala]

can you do a 2-2 MS map? PLEASE?

Not very difficult to make an ugly, ridiculous 2-2 map.

MS-01 - R+27
MS-02 - D+7 (50.6% BVAP)
MS-03 - D+9 (52.9% BVAP)
MS-04 - R+24

All are safe for their party, I would say.