Politics & Government
With PA District Redrawing, Chesco's 6th Could Turn Blue
PA's 6th Congressional District, held by Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, was among the state's more severely gerrymandered districts.
The state Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Congressional districts must be redrawn ahead of the 2018 primary elections due to severe gerrymandering. And that's big news for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District, covering much of Chester County, is among the state's more severely gerrymandered districts.
The current maps, drawn in 2011, "clearly, plainly, and palpably" violate the state's constitution, the order says. "On that sole basis, we hereby strike it as unconstitutional," the Supreme Court said. The ruling was 4-3.
The 6th District seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R), who faces a storm of resistance from Democrats for his seat, led by Chrissy Houlahan.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to a New York Times report, if the 6th District were fairly drawn, Hillary Clinton would have earned a 6-point victory in the 2016 election. Instead the 2016 election gave Trump a 14-point victory, and Costello earned re-election.
The current system benefits Republicans in Pennsylvania by "borrowing" heavily from Democratic strongholds in southeastern Pennsylvania and west-central Pennsylvania and looping them into Republican districts that are farther away from the blue centers of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh This dilutes the Democratic presence and allows Republicans to win key districts which they would otherwise lose.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Statewide, it's not clear how many seats the GOP stands to lose, but things will likely get no easier for Costello. The NYT visualization shows that a nonpartisan map would have given the Democrats seven districts in the 2016 election, versus 11 districts for the Republicans. The map is currently six Democrats and 12 Republicans.
According to the order, the legislature has until Feb. 9 to pass a replacement map, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has until Feb. 15 to submit it to the court. If that doesn't happen, "this Court shall proceed expeditiously to adopt a plan based on the evidentiary record developed in the Commonwealth Court," the order says.
Patch file photo
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