Population shifts set up huge House battleground

NOTE: Voting not just for federal races next year, but the state House and Senate because the state legislature will do redistricting in Minnesota after the 2020 census. And, the party controlling the legislative houses will draw the boundaries. With the recent Supreme Court vote saying they won’t weigh in on gerrymandering, you can bet the GOP will do what they can to maximize their political clout with bogus boundaries just like what happened in Wisconsin after the last session.

As many as 1 in 5 seats in the House of Representatives may be competitive next year as population shifts and partisan realignment conspire to create one of the most widespread battlefields in generations.

Democrats will find themselves on defense in dozens of districts the party captured in 2018, including 31 districts President Trump won in 2016. Already, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified 36 members for its Frontline program, which protects endangered incumbents.

Republicans, too, will have to defend districts in unexpected areas, seats that Democrats narrowly lost in 2018. Districts that have not been targets for years are suddenly in play, either because suburban voters revolted against Trump or because new residents are moving in and changing the makeup of those areas.

View the complete July 17 article by Reid Wilson on The Hill website here.