Trump to GOP: Fight map of Pennsylvania districts
HARRISBURG, PA. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday encouraged Republicans to fight Pennsylvania’s new court-imposed map of congressional districts, issued a day earlier in a move expected to improve Democrats’ chances at chipping away at the GOP’s U.S. House majority.
Trump tweeted that Republicans should challenge the new map of Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional districts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
“Your Original was correct! Don’t let the Dems take elections away from you so that ulated and moderate subof former Republican Rep. they can raise taxes & waste urbs. There, Republicans have Tim Murphy, who resigned money!” Trump tweeted. held seats in bizarrely con- amid a scandal. But it ren
Republicans have already torted districts, including one ders the special election virtuvowed to challenge it in feddescribed as “Goofy Kicking ally meaningless: The court’s eral court, as early as Tuesday. Donald Duck.” map puts each candidate’s
The Democratic-majority Re p ub l ican Rep. Ryan homes in a district with a state Supreme Court met its Costello, whose suburban Pittsburgh-area incumbent. own deadline Monday to issue Philadelphia district was narThe court ruled last month the new boundaries after it rowly won by Democrat Hilthat Republicans who redrew threw out a 6-year-old GOP- lary Clinton in 2016, is in even district boundaries in 2011 drawn map as unconstitu- more dire straits now that unconstitutionally put partionally gerrymandered. The his district adds the heavily tisan interests above neutral Republican-controlled LegisDemocratic city of Reading. line-drawing criteria. lature and Democratic Gov. The state’s delegation is It was the first time any Tom Wolf did not produce a already facing big changes state court threw out congresconsensus replacement map in a year with six open seats, sional boundaries in a parin the three weeks allotted by the most in decades. Mean- tisan gerrymandering case, the court. while, candidates finding this one brought by regis
The new map is to be in themselves in a new polittered Democratic voters and effect for the May 15 primary ical landscape are rethink- the League of Women Voters and substantially overhauls ing campaigns a week before last June. a Republican-drawn congres- they can start circulating The new map repacksional map widely viewed as petitions to run. ages districts that had been among the nation’s most gerThe map removes the heart stretched nearly halfway rymandered. of one district from Philadel- across Pennsylvania and
New boundaries will likely phia, where a crowd of canreunifies Democratic-heavy usher in changes to Pennsyldidates had assembled to cities that had been split by vania’s predominantly Repub- replace the retiring Demo- Republican map drawers six lican delegation, which has cratic Rep. Bob Brady, and years ago. provided a crucial pillar of moves it to suburban MontDemocrats cheered the support for GOP control of gomery County. new map, while Republicans the U.S. House. The new map does not blasted it.
Most significantly, the new apply to the March 13 speIndependent analysts said map gives Democrats a bet- cial congressional election in the map should improve Demter shot at winning a couple southwestern Pennsylvania’s ocratic prospects while still more seats, particularly in 18th District to fill the remainfavoring Republicans as a Philadelphia’s heavily pop- ing 10 months in the term whole.