U.S. House loses more ‘swing’ in 2022 – By Susan Davis (NPR) / May 29, 2022
Every ten years, congressional districts are redrawn to reflect the nation’s population shifts, and every ten years, the number of U.S. House seats that could be reasonably won by either party continue to shrink.
Kelly Burton, president of the left-leaning National Democratic Redistricting Committee, says it might not be great for democracy.
“It increases the polarization. It decreases the willingness and likelihood of two sides coming together to solve problems and skews the incentive structure for our elected officials much more toward the extremes then toward the middle,” she told NPR.
While not all 2022 congressional district maps are finalized, one outcome is not in dispute: only roughly 30 of 435 U.S. House seats will be considered traditional “swing seats” on the ballot this November. Those are congressional districts that were won within 5% by Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Districts that competitive tend to be represented by lawmakers who have the most incentives to be bipartisan.
CONTINUE > https://www.npr.org/2022/05/29/1100980188/u-s-house-loses-more-swing-in-2022
