Redistricting The Real Prize In Tuesday's Elections

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House Race Projectionsdem 194toss up 28gop 213 76%Probability of Gop takeover

Governor Race Projectionsdem 16toss up 4gop 29 +6Probable gain in Gop governorships

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First Posted: 11- 1-10 08:41 PM   |   Updated: 11- 1-10 08:48 PM

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Mother Jones:

Forget the Senate and House. That's short-term thinking. The real prize in Tuesday's midterm elections is the power to draw congressional seats and determine the country's balance of power for the next decade.

If either party can achieve what politicos call the "trifecta"--control of the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature--in a given state, it will be able to draw congressional districts within that state unencumbered by any need to compromise with the other party. That's the kind of power that creates electoral maps like the one former GOP Majority Leader Tom Delay helped bring to Texas in 2003--a map that pushed four of the state's Democrats out of their seats.

Five states bordering the Great Lakes--Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin--are the central battleground in the fight to control redistricting. Sure, the Republicans might take back the House of Representatives on election night. But winning gubernatorial and state legislative races in these five states could allow the GOP to dominate the House for much longer than the next few years.

Read the whole story: Mother Jones

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Elections 2010RedistrictingForget the Senate and House. That's short-term thinking. The real prize in Tuesday's midterm elections is the power to draw congressional seats and determine the country's balance of power for the nex...Forget the Senate and House. That's short-term thinking. The real prize in Tuesday's midterm elections is the power to draw congressional seats and determine the country's balance of power for the nex... Related News On Huffington Post:  
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Post to Facebook.Post to Blogger.Post to Twitter.Post to WordPress.Post to TypePad.Post to Tumblr.Post to Yahoo! View All Favorites Recency  |  Popularity MrStat   6 minutes ago (9:21 PM) 0 Fans You are absolutely right. That is exactly where the power will be. With the shift in representatives to the south and west, based upon the Census, with any luck Conservatives will be able to redistrict themselves into the majority for at least the next decade. This would be awsome for this country, to permanently put the leftists into minority status! MrStat: You are absolutely right. That is exactly where the power http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/MrStat/redistricting-2010-elections-real-prize_n_777391_65845489.html Permalink  | Share it drbslurp   4 minutes ago (9:23 PM) 187 Fans YAY! drbslurp: YAY! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/drbslurp/redistricting-2010-elections-real-prize_n_777391_65845721.html Permalink  | Share it Sinister Grin   8 minutes ago (9:19 PM) 62 Fans There he is. Bill Clinton. The man who gave us NAFTA. The original outsourcer. Sinister_Grin: There he is. Bill Clinton. The man who gave us http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Sinister_Grin/redistricting-2010-elections-real-prize_n_777391_65845366.html Permalink  | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Veganie   10 minutes ago (9:18 PM) 98 Fans This time tomorrow, we will have a good idea if truthfulness wins over greed. Veganie: This time tomorrow, we will have a good idea if http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Veganie/redistricting-2010-elections-real-prize_n_777391_65845184.html Permalink  | Share it Sinister Grin   7 minutes ago (9:20 PM) 62 Fans It's greed vs greed Sinister_Grin: It's greed vs greed http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Sinister_Grin/redistricting-2010-elections-real-prize_n_777391_65845408.html Permalink  | Share it     New comments on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… Loading twitter module... Most Popular on HuffPostcRs%2FP0zP%2FVcaYsTeUQjqNk8fRUv2FFhevscwlTR%2BMlON%2FfJgyWK4syAr7%2FamBeKF5tpNAtNJZxlCn6x5ycueIw%3D%3DUB3x%2FAsXy8fTlxU4U89sz%2B2tTN5Y8x7kMLiuBkXDmn6aDcYdKANCNQgEedhEres%2Bda7MLycjNI8EX1fh%2BRHQ%2Bw%3D%3D1 of 2 Sanity Rally Gets Huge Attendance Estimate
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