Do you take this Deal?

[lfromnj]

DC gets to become a state but Fairfax county,Arlington and Alexandria, and Prince George and Montgomery have to join the state.
Results for the two states with the DC counties.(not gonna bother for DC itself as its Titanium D of course)
MD
51% Clinton
42.8% Trump

54.3% Obama
43.3% Mccain

VA
52.8% Kaine
45.3% Stewart

49.6% Northam
49.3%  Gillespie
45.5% Clinton
48.9% Trump

50.2% obama
48.9% Mccain

Overall looks like VA is a mini NC while MD seems like a fairly inelastic state for Federal elections with Baltimore+county

So now there are 102 senate seats, Assuming both MDs and DC's Goes D everytime(won't happen for MD EVERY TIME as a wave year could win it possibily especially on a platform of baltimore vs the rest of the state) but VA's go R then its 55 GOP and 47 D but the D's could gain 1 and its 54 48 and if they gain both its 53 49

[Frodo]

No  (D) -I prefer retroceding most of DC to Maryland, while keeping the federal core.   

[S019]

No, I'd rather keep current boundaries and make DC a state (D)

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I'd be fine with it, although for the sake of map attractiveness, I'd prefer it exclude Fairfax or include all of MD and VA inside the beltway.

[PSOL]

Yes actually, those lands are culturally and economically linked closer to the capital then the surrounding states.

[Former President tack50]

Yes, though it would make Maryland look absolutely horrible, so my alternative proposal would make DC a tiny bit larger by taking also Charles county and St Mary's county from Maryland.

This probably makes Maryland even closer to a swing state but whatever.

The fact that DC has literal "Taxation without representation" is extremely undemocratic

[Lechasseur]

Yes, though it would make Maryland look absolutely horrible, so my alternative proposal would make DC a tiny bit larger by taking also Charles county and St Mary's county from Maryland.

This probably makes Maryland even closer to a swing state but whatever.

The fact that DC has literal "Taxation without representation" is extremely undemocratic

You can't take out St Mary's, the literal birthplace of Maryland, out of Maryland

[Lechasseur]

But in all honesty yes I'd take the deal.

It would be better for everyone involved: the DC Metropolitan Area, Virginia and Maryland if this happened imo

Well, maybe not so much Maryland (although it would give Baltimore and the rest of the state more influence), but definitely DC and Virginia

[Lechasseur]

It's also the only way DC are ever getting statehood imo

The Republicans aren't just going to create an extra Safe D state without anything in return

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Why not just leave MD's borders unchanged? It makes the map cleaner and you'd have to basically destroy MD for Rs to have substantial benefit from MD losing Democratic turf.

[Lechasseur]

Why not just leave MD's borders unchanged? It makes the map cleaner and you'd have to basically destroy MD for Rs to have substantial benefit from MD losing Democratic turf.

I was especially thinking of Virginia

Maryland would be fine left alone

But the GOP will never accept DC becoming a state of they don't take NOVA with them (NOVA is only Virginia in Name Only at this point anyway)

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

people on this site seem to sometimes forget that the states aren't just quirky constructs made up for the purpose of being constituencies in elections but actual administrative bodies that don't really suit being chopped up for the sake of competitiveness.

[Lechasseur]

people on this site seem to sometimes forget that the states aren't just quirky constructs made up for the purpose of being constituencies in elections but actual administrative bodies that don't really suit being chopped up for the sake of competitiveness.

I can agree on Maryland

But how can you even say NOVA and downstate Virginia belong in the same state now? NOVA has nothing in common with downstate and it has much more in common with DC and Maryland.

And I'm really just arguing this for Virginia.

I most certainly don't support splitting NYC from the rest of NY because they actually do more or less belong together imo

[Storr]

The only change to DC's borders I'd be okay with would be adding the former Virginia section that retroceded back to Virginia in 1847 (today's City of Alexandria and Arlington County). I doubt DC or Maryland residents want DC retrocession. It would have to be approved by a referendum in DC and by Maryland's Legislature, neither of which I see happening. Retrocession mostly seems to be an idea floated around by conservatives in order to avoid giving rabidly Democratic DC two Senators.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

As an alternative to no DC statehood, I'd take a deal that made MD and VA more competitive on principle, but I'd push for an inclusion of all of its urban counties, all of its suburban counties or all of its suburban and exurban counties rather than a simple pro-Republican gerrymander. Gerrymandering states could limit the effectiveness of local governance which DC could do with a lot more of.


In order of preference:
1. DC + Arlington-VA, Alexandria-VA, Fairfax-VA & Fairfax City-VA, Falls Church-VA
 - Hurts the Democrats in VA (for now), but makes DC more governable as an urban core under a single administration

2. DC alone

3. 1. + Charles-MD, Frederick-MD, Loudoun-VA, Manassas-VA & Manassas Park-VA, Montgomery-MD, Prince George's-MD, Prince William-VA
 - Expands heterogeneity in the form of more suburban counties

4. The above + Calvert-MD, Clarke-VA, Fauqier-VA, Fredericksburg-VA, Jefferson-WV, Spotsylvania-VA, Stafford-VA, St Mary's-MD, Warren-VA
- Expands to the exurbs. St Mary's isn't ideal in the above set, but would be an exclave otherwise.

5. The above + Anne Arundel-MD, Berkeley-WV, Culpeper-VA, Howard-MD
 - You can argue DC stretches into these areas via its transport network and as urban sprawl increases, this may become increasingly true. MD would have to give up its state capital for this one to work.

Anything further than this would just be pure gerrymandering and I'm not sure you could get the states to agree to ceding this much to begin with, but some kind of ceding of ground up to this point is probably the only feasible path to DC statehood outside of the Democrats winning 60 Senate seats or abolishing/limiting the legislative filibuster.

[Mr. Reactionary]

I'd give my left nut to get rid of NOVA.

[beaver2.0]

Uh no because I like being a part of Virginia.

[SevenEleven]

If DC is retroceded, Dakotas must be merged back and make Puerto Rico a state.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Prefer DC statehood + rule VA's retrocession unconstitutional + reverse Virginia v. West Virginia

Well, that's one way to make Virginia a Trump+4 state.

[SevenEleven]

Prefer DC statehood + rule VA's retrocession unconstitutional + reverse Virginia v. West Virginia

Well, that's one way to make Virginia a Trump+4 state.

It's also one way to make "Virginia" a future Democratic state considering the growth of NoVA and especially with Amazon coming.

Your essentially taking West Virginia's senators and giving them to DC+Arlington+Alexandria and then waiting for Virginia to keep shifting further towards Dems.

Not to mention your basically trading Kaine and Warner for whoever DC elects (advantage Left), and you make it easier for Manchin or even someone to his left, maybe even Kaine or Warner, to win Senate seats in New Virginia (Old Virginia?).

[Battista Minola 1616]

If we are going to mess around with boundaries in the DC area, why not also doing something to improve the horribly looking Maryland Panhandle and WV's Eastern Panhandle?

[Escape Pod Zero]

Keep it the way it is.

[Nightcore Nationalist]

Totally. I'm happy because VA remains a swing state for another decade and the DC statehood people are happy because they get 2 more senators.

[Alben Barkley]

Yes, though it would make Maryland look absolutely horrible, so my alternative proposal would make DC a tiny bit larger by taking also Charles county and St Mary's county from Maryland.

This probably makes Maryland even closer to a swing state but whatever.

The fact that DC has literal "Taxation without representation" is extremely undemocratic

Maryland already looks absolutely horrible.

[brucejoel99]

No, because nobody in DC &/or the affected VA/MD areas have called for such a deal. It probably wouldn't be popular in DC &/or the affected VA/MD areas. Not to mention, the affected counties have been a part of their respective states for nearly 2 centuries, so it's probably best to let them stay that way.