I made a map with two goals. They were:
1.) Keep cities together, and if possible, counties
2.) Make the district without care for partisanship
Philadelphia is the only city in more than one cd, and only four counties have 3 or more cds in them (Allegheny, Philadelphia, Chester, and Montgomery. 4 out of 69 aint bad, considering that Philadelphia has to be.)
There is high upside here for both parties, and this is a decent compromise, although more favorable to the republicans. It comes down to if you believe 2008 or 2010 is the closer to reality.
I really only think one picture is necessary due to the nature of this exercise. If anyone wants a zoomed view, lemme know. All are under 1000 off the ideal population.
District 1 (Blue): 53% Black, 88% Obama
Entirely Philadelphia. Safe as could be. 1-0-0
District 2 (Green): 36% B, 14 Hispanic, 5 Asia, 80% O
Entirely Philadelphia. Safe as could be. 2-0-0
District 3 (Dark Magenta): 58% O
North-East Philly, and parts of Montgomery and Bucks. Leans very D. 3-0-0
District 4 (Red): 61% O
Delco and a part of montco. Likely D. 4-0-0
District 5 (Gold): 54% O
Rest of Montgomery and Bucks, plus a tiny bit of chester. Toss-up, Leans slightly R. 4-0-1
District 6 (Teal): 56% O
Bethlehem, Allentown, Easton and their counties, plus a bit of monroe. Toss-up, Leans slightly D. 4-0-2
District 7 (Dark Grey): 56% O
Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding area. Toss-Up, Leans slightly D. 4-0-3
District 8 (Slate Blue): 53% M
A few small cities (Hazelton, Bloomsburg, Pottsville), but a lotta empty area. Likely R. 4-1-3
District 9 (Cyan): 55% O
Reading, the rest of Berks and a huge part of chester county. Pure Toss-Up 4-1-4
District 10 (Deep Pink): 56% M
Lancaster, Lebanon and space. Likely R. 4-2-4
District 11 (Chartreuse): 51% M
Harrisburg and York. Lean M. 4-3-4
District 12 (Cornflower Blue): 63% M
Not a lot going on here. Safe R. 4-4-4
District 13 (Dark Salmon): 54% M
North PA. Surprised it is this close tbqh. Likely R. 4-5-4
District 14 (Olive): 49% O (Wins by about 600 votes).
Erie. Toss-Up, Leans R. However, I think obama underperformed what a congressional D could do here so i’m counting it in the toss-up. 4-5-5
District 15 (Dark Orange): 55% M
North of Pitt. Likely R. 4-6-5
District 16 (Lime): 64% O
Pittsburgh. Safe D. 5-6-5
District 17 (Dark Slate Blue): 50% O
South of Pitt. Toss-Up, Leans R. 5-6-6
District 18 (Yellow): 56% M
The rest, includes Altoona. Likely R. 5-7-6.
Not the best either side could do, but most definitely fair. Both sides have reason to believe they could win a lot of the toss-ups. I hope the gopers believe that anyways. Well, lemme know.