| Arizona is gaining one seat, from eight up to nine, and that means that its new target is 710,224, up from 641K in 2000. Interestingly, despite the fact that it's gaining a new seat, there are still three currently-composed districts that are in a deficit and need to pick up people from elsewhere: the 3rd, 4th, and 5th. These are the three central districts in the Phoenix area that are essentially built out and can't expand in any direction (except up); meanwhile, the 2nd, 6th, and 7th can continue to expand every which way into the desert, which is precisely what they did over the decade, so look for one additional GOP-friendly seat to be carved out of Phoenix's endless suburbia (although whether it's centered in Phoenix's west or east suburbs remains to be seen... between the commission's role in deciding, and possible multiple incumbents opening up seats to run for the Senate, there really aren't any clues what will happen).
Like the other border states, Arizona has become signficantly more Hispanic over the decade, up to 29.6% Hispanic now compared with 25.3% in 2000. The Hispanic growth wasn't concentrated any one particular place: that 4% increase was closely mirrored in all the districts. The 2nd had the biggest Hispanic shift, at 7% (from 14% to 21%), while the 1st had the smallest shift, at 3% (from 16% to 19%). That dissipation of the Hispanic vote means that it's not terribly likely that a third VRA seat will be carved out, despite the fact that Hispanics are close to 1/3 of the state's population.
| District |
Population |
Deviation |
| AZ-01 |
774,310 |
64,086 |
| AZ-02 |
972,839 |
262,615 |
| AZ-03 |
707,919 |
(2,305) |
| AZ-04 |
698,314 |
(11,910) |
| AZ-05 |
656,833 |
(53,391) |
| AZ-06 |
971,733 |
261,509 |
| AZ-07 |
855,769 |
145,545 |
| AZ-08 |
754,300 |
44,076 |
| Total: |
6,392,017 |
|
I'm not the first one to observe that Idaho redistricting is pretty much drama-free. Nevertheless, there's at least something interesting going on here in this small but fast-growing state: growth is very heavily concentrated in suburbs and exurbs west of Boise. For instance, the state's 2nd and 3rd biggest cities used to be Pocatello and Idaho Falls; now they're Meridian (a large suburb west of Boise) and Nampa (in Canyon County, the next county to the west). That means that the districts are kind of lopsided, and it looks like much of Boise proper, currently split down the middle, will wind up being given to ID-02. While Boise is certainly the most urbane part of the state, and it should tip the balance a bit in the blue direction (as for the past decade, the two districts have had almost identical PVIs), the 2nd should still be a long way away from somewhere the Dems can compete. (Idaho's target is 783,791, up from 646K in 2000. Look for it to get a 3rd seat in 2020.)
| District |
Population |
Deviation |
| ID-01 |
841,930 |
58,139 |
| ID-02 |
725,652 |
(58,139) |
| Total: |
1,567,582 |
|
Wisconsin held steady at eight seats this year, and even its districts held pretty steady, too. Its target is 710,873, up from 670K in 2000. That means the only district that lost population is the Milwaukee-based 4th and even it only lost a few thousand since 2000. The main area of growth is the state's other blue stronghold, the Madison-area 2nd (must have something to do with THE BLOATED STATE GOVERNMENT AND THOSE GREEDY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES MULTIPLYING LIKE LOCUSTS!!!!1!!), which needs to give about 40,000 people to the 4th (although they'll have to pass through the suburban 5th, which sits smack dab between them). Also, it looks like Dairyland is gaining a little at the expense of the North Woods, as the 3rd will need to pick up 20K from GOP freshman Sean Duffy's 7th. Although the GOP controls the redistricting process here, thanks to their House gains in 2010 and the overall uniform swinginess of the rural counties, they're probably just going to be playing defense with their map.
| District |
Population |
Deviation |
| WI-01 |
728,042 |
17,169 |
| WI-02 |
751,169 |
40,296 |
| WI-03 |
729,957 |
19,084 |
| WI-04 |
669,015 |
(41,858) |
| WI-05 |
707,580 |
(3,293) |
| WI-06 |
705,102 |
(5,771) |
| WI-07 |
689,279 |
(21,594) |
| WI-08 |
706,840 |
(4,033) |
| Total: |
5,686,986 |
|
|
