I’m gonna be quick on commentary for now, (got to get back to college work and quit fooling around with piddling little bits of politics), but I’ve been messing around with Colorado, reading bits on its politics and trends, and trying to make the best map possible for Democrats, (as they seem more likely than not to control the trifecta). After a few tries, this is what I came up with:
Sorry about the lack of numbers, an oversight on my part. As for political data, the only district I calculated was teh purple, the current version of John Salazar’s 3rd district. I managed to, if my vague guestimations and additions are right, to shift it a bit to the left, from 50-48 McCain, to 51.5-48.5, in Obama’s favor.
As for the rest, I lopped off the vast, 75% Republican rural areas from the 4th, instead making a diverse, Fort Collins-Greeley-Longmont-Thornton district that would certainly have a considerable Democratic lean, (getting bigger all the time), and that Betsy Markey would be a great fit for. (Red)
The 2nd, Green, changed a bit, and is perhaps a few points to the right of where it used to be, but it’s still safely in the Democratic corner, I even gave it a portion of the whiter, South Denver areas as well to add Democratic votes to it.
The 7th, Gray, takes in Commerce City, parts of Thornton, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden, Westminister, Brighton, heavily black portions of north Denver, and rural Weld and Adams counties plus conservative Morgan County. It’s very diverse, with a 30% hispanic population, and probably even more Democratic than it currently is.
The 1st, (blue), is maybe 6-10 points more Republican, but considering it gave Obama 75% to begin with, it can afford to lose a little. It’s got a large minority population; 49%, and is probably still very Democratic, in the 66-68% range.
Of the two Republican districts, the 5th, yellow, is about 57% McCain, and the 6th is now about 60-61% McCain.
Anyway, that’s what I came up with, sorry for the haste. I think it is a fairly logical example of what Democrats would do if they controlled the trifecta, even if, godforbid, Salazer and Markey don’t survive. It certainly makes its easier for them to make political comebacks in 2012.
There’s a large minority population in south Colorado Springs that I hate to see go to waste. I think it would make sense to put the area into the 3rd district, as it could shift it a couple of points in the Democratic direction, and under your map, that could be the difference between an R+2 PVI and a D+1 PVI.
If Gardner wins in the 4th, I would suggest putting the eastern plains, which include his home in Yuma County, into the 5th rather than the 6th, as Gardner would have a good shot against Lamborn in a primary, while Coffman would be much harder to beat. This would encourage Gardner to try and take out Lamborn in the primary, rather than move and try and contest your new 4th, as he might do if his home was put into Coffman’s district.
Overall, though, I like your map. I especially like what you’ve done with the 7th and the 2nd. Whenever I play around with Colorado, I always worry that I’ve weakened the 2nd too much, and you seem to have avoided that problem.