Underrated consequence of gerrymandering; weakening bench of opposition party?

[ottermax]

I think it is just more difficult to be a minority party in a larger state due to the cost of running a campaign in a larger media market.

The states that have decent benches of opposition that aren't swingy include places like Alaska, Montana, Maine, Kansas, or even Vermont... smaller states just have more opportunity.

One place that does seem to fit your hypothesis well in Nevada but that's not necessarily a gerrymander but the odd political geography of the state.