Parties at odds over congressional redestricting in Nevada
CARSON CITY — Two of Nevada’s three seats in the House of Representatives are now held by Republicans, but if Democrats have their way when the new Congress is seated in January 2013, three of the state’s four members will be Democrats.
Republicans are not so greedy. Their proposed path to redistrict Congress would give them a good chance to take two of the four seats.
The partisan differences became apparent Thursday after Democrats released their proposed maps for Congress during a joint legislative committee hearing. Republicans issued theirs last week.
Democrats neglected to include in their statistical summary of the congressional maps the partisan makeup of the four districts. But all that public information was readily available through the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Only brief mention of the congressional district maps was made during the joint hearing Thursday, but additional hearings are planned today and Saturday.
Here’s how the two parties differ in how they would create the boundaries of the four congressional districts.
■ 1st Congressional District: The seat is now held by Democrat Shelley Berkley. Under the Democrat plan, the party breakdown would be 48.2 percent Democrat, 30.7 percent Republican.
Under the Republican plan, it would be 45.5 percent Democrat, 32.0 percent Republican. There are now 66,000 more registered Democrats in the district than Republicans.
■ 2nd Congressional District: This seat is now held by Republican Dean Heller. Under the Democrat plan, it would become 42.6 percent Republican and 35.5 percent Democrat.
Under the Republican plan, it would be virtually the same, 42.8 percent Republican and 35.7 percent Democrat. There are now 41,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats in the district.
■ 3rd Congressional District: This seat is now held by Republican Joe Heck. Under the Democrat plan, it would become 44.6 percent Democrat and 32.9 percent Republican. Under the Republican plan, it would be 40.8 percent Republican and 37.5 percent Democrat. There are now 30,000 more registered Democrats in the district than Republicans.
■ 4th Congressional District: This is the additional seat Nevada gains because of its population growth. Under the Democrat plan, it would be 43.6 percent Democrat and 33.5 percent Republican.
Under the Republican plan, it would be 57.8 percent Democrat and 20.8 percent Republican. More than half of the district’s population — largely in North Las Vegas and Las Vegas — would be Hispanic.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
