Maryland’s congressional districts are about to be redrawn, based on results of the 2010 census. This process takes place every 10 years following the census. It is always political. The dominant political party tries to draw the districts to protect their incumbents and if possible, to take seats away from the opposition. This year is no exception. In much of the country, based on a Republican sweep in 2010, it’s the GOP playing the game. In Maryland, however, it’s Democrats in the majority.
Maryland has eight congressional districts; of those, six are currently held by Democrats and two by Republicans; our 1st District is one of the two. Both Republican-held districts could have been targeted for tweaking to make them more Democrat-friendly. But with a proposed map released by the redistricting committee last week, it’s clear the primary target was the 6th District, held by Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. The 1st District remains Republican-friendly.
Important to Shore residents is the fact that our nine Eastern Shore counties remain united in one district. The change involves moving Anne Arundel County out of our district and replacing it with Harford County and portions of rural, northern Baltimore and Carroll counties, thus skirting the more densely populated urban areas around Baltimore City and Annapolis. The district is also now contiguous, no longer divided by the Chesapeake Bay.
Districts 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, however, are a mess, connected by pipestems that reflect both population density and, more likely, political machinations. District 6, the other Republican stronghold, is contiguous and does not contain pipestem connections. It stretches from Garrett County, the westernmost county, to Washington County, then southward into Montgomery County, with a relatively wealthy, suburban population that has little in common, politically speaking, with more rural western counties.
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