FL and GA on Dave’s App.

Having mapped most of the country in my absurdly low-tech fashion, the release of Dave’s redistricting application (and bandwagon appeal) compels me to revisit some of these states with better data. I’ll start with Florida and Georgia, two states covered by recent diaries but for which my approach is decidedly different.

These maps resemble what I drew on Paint, but not exactly.

Below the fold…

Florida

Like my Paint-generated Florida map, this is based on the assumption of a Republican plan, and more or less consists of incumbent protection with few exceptions (since it does generally protect incumbents, the map wouldn’t be dramatically different if Alex Sink was elected). Re: the Voting Rights Act, I was not able to preserve a black majority in Corrine Brown’s district; 47% was as close as I could seem to get, but with the white population at 40%, other minority groups would seem to make FL-3 VRA-protected.

The new 26th, as in my original iteration, is a modestly GOP-leaning Central Florida seat between the Ocala area and Lake Okeechobee.

The northern half of the state:

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The southern half of the state:

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Focus on South Florida:

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District 1 (blue) – Jeff Miller (R-Chumuckla)

Counties: Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton

Large minorities: 14% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 2 (dark green) – Allen Boyd (D-Monticello)

Counties: Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, Washington

Large minorities: 25% black

Politics: Republican-leaning when Boyd retires

District 3 (purple) – Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville)

Counties: Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Orange, Putnam

Large minorities: 47% black (just 40% white)

Politics: strong Democratic

District 4 (red) – Ander Crenshaw (R-Jacksonville)

Counties: Baker, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton, Nassau

Large minorities: 15% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 5 (yellow) – Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Brooksville)

Counties: Citrus, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hernando, Levy, Pasco

Large minorities: none

Politics: strong Republican

District 6 (aquamarine) – Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala)

Counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Hamilton, Marion, Suwannee, Union

Large minorities: 11% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 7 (gray) – John Mica (R-Winter Park)

Counties: Flagler, Lake, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Volusia

Large minorities: 12% Hispanic, 11% black

Politics: generally Republican

District 8 (lavender) – Alan Grayson (D-Orlando)

Counties: Orange

Large minorities: 27% Hispanic, 10% black

Politics: tilting/trending Democratic

District 9 (turquoize) – Gus Bilirakis (R-Palm Harbor)

Counties: Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas

Large minorities: 14% Hispanic

Politics: tilting Republican

District 10 (fuchsia) – Bill Young (R-Indian Shores)

Counties: Pinellas

Large minorities: none

Politics: swing/leaning Republican

District 11 (yellow-green) – Kathy Castor (D-Tampa)

Counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas

Large minorities: 28% black, 24% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 12 (sky blue) – Adam Putnam (R-Bartow)

Counties: Hardee, Hillsborough, Marion, Polk, Sumter

Large minorities: 15% Hispanic, 12% black

Politics: generally Republican

District 13 (pink) – Vern Buchanan (R-Sarasota)

Counties: DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee, Sarasota

Large minorities: 11% Hispanic

Politics: generally Republican

District 14 (olive) – Connie Mack (R-Fort Myers)

Counties: Charlotte, Collier, Lee

Large minorities: 16% Hispanic

Politics: strong Republican

District 15 (orange) – Bill Posey (R-Rockledge)

Counties: Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie

Large minorities: 11% black

Politics: generally Republican

District 16 (green) – Tom Rooney (R-Tequesta)

Counties: Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highland, Martin, Palm Beach, Okeechobee, St. Lucie

Large minorities: 16% Hispanic

Politics: tilting Republican

District 17 (ash purple) – Kendrick Meek (D-Miami)

Counties: Broward, Miami-Dade

Large minorities: 52% black, 28% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 18 (yellow) – Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Miami)

Counties: Miami-Dade, Monroe

Large minorities: 63% Hispanic

Politics: swing/leaning Republican

District 19 (chartreux) – Robert Wexler (D-Boca Raton)

Counties: Broward, Palm Beach

Large minorities: 22% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 20 (light pink) – Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston)

Counties: Broward, Miami-Dade

Large minorities: 31% Hispanic, 11% black

Politics: strong Democratic

District 21 (maroon) – Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Miami)

Counties: Miami-Dade

Large minorities: 72% Hispanic

Politics: swing/leaning Republican

District 22 (brown) – Ron Klein (D-Boca Raton)

Counties: Broward, Palm Beach

Large minorities: 15% Hispanic

Politics: tilting Democratic

District 23 (mint green) – Alcee Hastings (D-Miramar)

Counties: Broward, Palm Beach

Large minorities: 52% black, 18% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 24 (violet) – Suzanne Kosmas (D-New Smyrna Beach)

Counties: Brevard, Flagler, Orange, Seminole, Volusia

Large minorities: 13% Hispanic

Politics: swing

District 25 (salmon) – Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Miami)

Counties: Collier, Miami-Dade, Monroe

Large minorities: 65% Hispanic

Politics: swing/leaning Republican

District 26 (charcoal) – New

Counties: Highland, Lake, Marion, Okeechobee, Osceola, Polk

Large minorities: 25% Hispanic

Politics: tilting Republican

Georgia

While it’s possible Roy Barnes or another Democrat will win the open governor’s mansion (a possibility in Florida too), I’m tentatively betting on a GOP gerrymander that finally cracks Jim Marshall’s district and makes the districts of Sanford Bishop and John Barrow majority-minority at last (Bishop’s would have an outright black majority, Barrow’s being 48% black and 46% white).

The most controversial choice I made was to kill those two birds with one stone by dividing Marshall’s Macon base, giving most of urban Macon (which is heavily black) to Bishop (thereby forcing Marshall against the more entrenched Bishop in a majority-black district based in Southwest Georgia that Bishop would be clearly favored to win) and rendering the 8th even more rural and white.

I kept all three black-majority Atlanta districts over 50%, did my best to protect GOP incumbents in the suburbs, and created a new GOP-leaning suburban seat. In short, the quintessential Republican map. The only part I may have seriously screwed up was Linder’s district…it’s getting harder and harder to keep his portion of Gwinnett County solidly in GOP hands, and the 7th is now the most diverse district in the state.

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District 1 (blue) – Jack Kingston (R-Savannah)

Description: entire coastline, rural South Georgia, white areas of Savannah, Valdosta, Vidalia

VRA stats: 72% white, 21% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 2 (dark green) – Sanford Bishop (D-Albany) vs. Jim Marshall (D-Macon) [Bishop would likely win primary in mostly intact but newly black-majority district despite Marshall’s Macon base)

Description: rural Southwest Georgia, Columbus, Albany, most of Macon and Valdosta

VRA stats: 52% black, 42% white

Politics: generally Democratic

District 3 (purple) – Lynn Westmoreland (R-Grantville)

Description: Atlanta exurbs to the south

VRA stats: 68% white, 25% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 4 (red) – Hank Johnson (D-Lithonia)

Description: most of DeKalb County

VRA stats: 51% black, 32% white, 11% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 5 (yellow) – John Lewis (D-Atlanta)

Description: heart of Atlanta, remainder of DeKalb County

VRA stats: 54% black, 34% white

Politics: strong Democratic

District 6 (aquamarine) – Tom Price (R-Roswell)

Description: north Atlanta suburbs — Cherokee County, portions of Bartow and Cobb, north Fulton

VRA stats: 78% white

Politics: strong Republican

District 7 (gray) – John Linder (R-Duluth)

Description: most of Gwinnett County, small portion of Forsyth

VRA stats: 47% white, 22% black, 18% Hispanic, 11% Asian [most diverse, and rapidly diversifying, district in the state; this could be serious trouble for the Republicans by the mid-to-late 2010s]

Politics: tilting Republican but trending Democratic

District 8 (lavender) – open/not Jim Marshall

Description: far southern outskirts of Atlanta MSA, Warner Robins, rural Middle Georgia, down to Thomasville and Quitman

VRA stats: 66% white, 27% black

Politics: fairly strong Republican

District 9 (turquoise) – Nathan Deal (R-Gainesville)

Description: Appalachian North Georgia, Dalton, Gainesville, far north exurban Atlanta

VRA stats: 80% white, 13% Hispanic

Politics: strong Republican

District 10 (fuchsia) – Paul Broun (R-Athens)

Description: Northeast Georgia, Athens, north and west Augusta

VRA stats: 77% white, 15% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 11 (yellow-green) – Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta)

Description: northwest Atlanta suburbs/exurbs, much of Cobb County

VRA stats: 67% white, 19% black

Politics: strong Republican

District 12 (sky blue) – John Barrow (D-Savannah)

Description: southeast Augusta, northwest Savannah, rural eastern Georgia [meant to concentrate black population]

VRA stats: 48% black, 46% white [not quite a majority but closer than before]

Politics: generally Democratic

District 13 (pink) – David Scott (D-Atlanta)

Description: south Fulton County, all of Clayton and Douglas, southeast Cobb

VRA stats: 52% black, 33% white, 10% Hispanic

Politics: strong Democratic

District 14 (olive) – New

Description: east Atlanta suburbs/exurbs — most of Forsyth County, remainders of Gwinnett and Hall, stretching south through Barrow, Walton, Rockdale, Newton, and Butts

VRA stats: 71% white, 18% black [I should definitely have weakened Republican strength here for Linder’s benefit…live and learn, I guess!]

Politics: strong Republican [again, split the difference between this and the 7th and you have two fairly strong GOP districts]

So there you are, computer-generated equivalents of two of my maps. I’ve also done Texas and Missouri on Dave’s app and will post those at a later date.

19 thoughts on “FL and GA on Dave’s App.”

  1. At 27 percent black that’s fairly close to his current district and contains much of the same territory he has won in the past.

    I really like your 7th district, that might be a requirement for compromise if Barnes wins in 2010.  

  2. I appreciate that your districts are actually realistic. There’s been a glut of redistricting diaries lately that are sorta interesting, but at the end of the day unrealistic, which begs the question of what the point is in posting them.

    I have managed to get Corrine Brown over 50% Black in the past, but since it wasn’t over 50% in 2000 (it is now, according to ACS), it might not be the end of the world if it isn’t.

    If Alex Sink does win, we could fairly easily get better districts for Ron Klein and Alan Grayson, but other than that, yeah, it wouldn’t be that different from what you presented.

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