Minnesota Republican State Representative Sarah Anderson introduced a redistricting plan today, which keeps Minneapolis and St. Paul each as separate congressional districts, leaving Twin Cities Congressmembers Betty McCollum (Fourth District) and Keith Ellison (Fifth District) in their current districts. (See larger map below.)
The GOP-proposed map, however, would move current Republican Congressmember Chip Cravaack from the Eighth to the Seventh District and would also move current DFL Congressmember Collin Peterson from the Seventh to the Eighth District. St. Cloud would also move into the Seventh District. The Sixth District remains oddly shaped, and changes are already drawing DFL criticism on counts including lack of opportunity for public input.
Of course, the map is likely to meet a gubernatorial veto, even if it does pass the GOP-controlled legislature before May 23. That will mean an opportunity for more wrangling before the 2012 session, and probably, in the end, a court-drawn redistricting plan.
The new 7th is clearly designed for Republican comfort. The new 6th, Michele Bachmann’s district, should be a safe haven for her. The 2nd and 3rd Districts are not greatly changed, though the 3rd becomes even more Republican friendly by sweeping slightly farther west.
Want to find where your new district would be? Just click here, and enter your address or zip code to find your district under the GOP plan, complete with census summary information.
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