Whenever someone would look at a map of Kentucky’s six Congressional districts, they would always notice the snaking shape of the First District.
“I thought districts were supposed to be compact. What is up with Comer’s district? That’s ridiculous – you’d have to drive for hours to go from one end to the other.”
You think the drawing of that district was bad? Check out the new map dropped last night by Repubs in the Kentucky Senate.
Yep – not only did they not fix that ridiculous First District, they actually EXTENDED it all the way to Frankfort.
And why? For one very simple reason: Comer owns a home in Frankfort, and wants to live there while still representing the far-western part of the state.
Gerrymandering is usually done to gain an advantage in upcoming elections. But this gerrymandering is taking pandering to a new level. It’s not only ridiculous, it’s disgusting.
Barr gets boost
The Senate Repubs didn’t stop there. In addition to their kowtowing to Comer, they decided to change the map to benefit Andy Barr.
Franklin County leans Democratic, so of course they had to remove it from Barr’s district. While Barr has been challenged in the past, with the Democrat counting on votes from Frankfort to win, that Congressional district is now safely Republican for the next ten years.
Third District largely left alone
There was much worry that as a final blow, the Repubs would split the open Third District into multiple sections, making it no longer a safe Democratic district. That didn’t happen.
The Third was largely left alone, other than having to give up some precincts to balance the district, since Louisville has gained population while other counties have lost people.
--30--
