What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State

Every state in the union now has a new congressional map in place for the 2022 election. Several of those maps are being challenged in court as illegal gerrymanders, but none seems like a serious possibility to be overturned before the midterms.

Although Republicans went into the cycle with control over drawing more districts, the number of Democratic-leaning seats actually increased as a result of redistricting. The new maps have six more Democratic-leaning seats than the old ones and the same number of Republican-leaning seats. This is due to aggressive map-drawing by Democrats in states such as Illinois as well as court decisions overturning Republican gerrymanders in states like North Carolina.

After accounting for incumbency, however, Republicans are actually the ones who have gained ground from redistricting: The GOP is positioned for a net gain of three to four seats in 2022 just thanks to the new lines alone. Republicans have benefited from their own brazen cartography in states like Florida and courts striking down Democratic gerrymanders in Maryland and New York. Republicans have also shored up their existing position by converting light-red districts into safer seats in states like Texas.

Partisanship aside, there are two other important takeaways from the 2021-22 redistricting cycle. First, the number of swing seats will continue to decline; the new maps have six fewer highly competitive districts than the old ones. And second, people of color will remain underrepresented in Congress.