Washington Post Photo |
Good news from the WSJ (Story here):
Republican-leaning states in the South and Southwest will add congressional seats in the next election, which could give the GOP a big advantage in its bid to retain control of the U.S. House.
The biggest losers are Rust Belt states in the Northeast and Midwest. Ohio and New York both lose two seats. Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri and New Jersey all lose a seat. Louisiana was the only Southern state to lose representation, the result of a steep population decline that followed Hurricane Katrina.
The impact of these new numbers is less clear on the coming presidential election because the shift doesn’t impact the Electoral College in a meaningful enough way to undercut President Barack Obama’s prospects for re-election.