Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced a bill this week that would ensure only U.S. citizens are factored into the count for Congressional districts and the Electoral College map that determines presidential elections.
Read the full storyTag: redistricting
Senator Marsha Blackburn Visits All 95 Counties of Tennessee Each Year: The ‘Full Blackburn’ Takes a Page from Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a new bill she and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced as well as State Representative Gloria Johnson’s (D-Knoxville) recent vote against a bill that would allow prosecutors to pursue a death penalty sentence for convicted child rapists.
Blackburn, who was traveling through Sumner County while on the newsmaker line, first discussed the importance of her annual trips to all 95 Tennessee counties.
Read the full storyTennessee State Senate Maps Ruled Unconstitutional Over Misnumbered Districts
A Tennessee court ruled Wednesday afternoon that Republican-drawn state Senate maps are unconstitutional, giving the General Assembly until January 31 to adopt new maps.
Read the full storyRepublicans and Democrats React to Wisconsin Supreme Court Redistricting Hearing
There are no surprises among the reactions to the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s questions about drawing new political maps in the state.
A number of lawmakers and advocacy groups weighed in after the high court Tuesday heard arguments to redraw the state’s legislative maps.
Read the full storyNorth Carolina May Upend Dems’ Dreams of Redistricting Their Way Back into Power
North Carolina’s recently redrawn congressional map could upend Democrats’ use of redistricting to gain back the House majority ahead of 2024.
The Supreme Court declined to allow Alabama to use its Republican-drawn congressional map in late September, a federal judge is requiring Georgia to redraw its maps to better represent black voters and another case in Louisiana could result in an additional majority-black district. Democrats could lose up to four congressional seats in North Carolina after the GOP-controlled state legislature’s new map was approved last week, which is expected to end up in court, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Read the full storyProposed Amendment to Change Ohio Redistricting Moves Ahead
The Ohio Ballot Board on Thursday approved a citizen-led effort to once again change how the state draws legislative districts.
Now, the group pushing for a constitutional amendment that would create a 15-member citizen redistricting commission to draw district lines must collect enough signatures to get on the 2024 ballot.
Read the full storyWisconsin State Senator: Left-Wing Activists Seek to Disenfranchise 1 Million-Plus Voters
While Democrats routinely accuse election integrity advocates of disenfranchising voters, leftist lawfare practitioners in the battleground Badger State could disenfranchise more than a million voters, according to state Senator Duey Stroebel.
The Saukville Republican calls it a “preposterous attack on democracy.”
Read the full storyBig Labor, Far-Left Rally Around Leftist Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice as Impeachment Talk Heats Up
The groups that helped buy liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz her seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are on the attack as talk of impeaching the newly elected jurist heats up.
It’s the latest fight in a pitched battleground state battle over judicial bias, recusal and the “will of the people.”
Read the full storyDemocratic Virginia Candidates Compete for Primary Wins in Newly Drawn Districts
In yesterday’s General Assembly primaries, competition was fierce among Democrats for unclaimed Senate districts newly defined in Virginia’s last redistricting in 2021.
Incumbents represented a little more than one-third of the commonwealth’s senatorial candidates. Ten Democratic Senators returned to contend for their seats, with eight competing against newcomers and two squaring off against each other for the up-for-grabs 18th District. Four of the eight incumbent-challenger Democratic races went to the current Senators.
Read the full storyCity of Phoenix to Redraw City Council Districts This Year, Seeks Public Input
The City of Phoenix is encouraging residents to weigh in with input as the city is required by law to review and rework City Council District boundaries based on the latest Census data.
Read the full storyFar-Left Candidate Janet Protasiewicz Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, Liberals Gain Control
In a nationally watched state Supreme Court race dominated by abortion, bruising campaign attacks and money (lots of money), liberal Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz easily defeated conservative Daniel Kelly in Tuesday’s spring election, handing liberals control of Wisconsin’s high court for the first time in more than 15 years.
The election seemed over before the shouting. Less than an hour after Wisconsin’s polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Associated Press called the contest. At that time, Protasiewicz led by double digits over Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice who lost his seat three years ago to far left jurist Jill Karofsky.
Read the full storyCity of Nashville Sues Governor Bill Lee Over Law Reducing Size of Metro Council
The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County filed a lawsuit Monday in the Davidson County Chancery Court against Governor Bill Lee for his recent signing of a bill (SB87/HB48) that requires the Metro Nashville City Council – composed of 40 members- to be cut in half.
Read the full storyLiberal Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Faces Judicial Conduct Complaint
A Wisconsin resident has filed an ethics complaint with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission alleging Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice candidate Janet Protasiewicz violated the state Code of Judicial Conduct
Randall R. Cook, a citizen and GOP supporter from Barron County, filed the complaint Monday asserting that the Milwaukee County judge has “announced how she will rule on issues that will likely come before the Supreme Court, such as abortion and the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s legislative maps.”
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelist Aaron Gulbransen Discusses Upcoming 2023 Tennessee General Assembly Agenda
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss Tennessee’s minor child transgender mutilation legislation as it pertains to redistricting and General Assembly agenda 2023.
Read the full storyOhio Republican Legislators Appeal Congressional Map Ruling to the Supreme Court
Ohio’s Republican state legislators are in the process of appealing a state Supreme Court ruling on congressional redistricting to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state’s high court has repeatedly ruled against maps created by Ohio’s Redistricting Commission. Despite the GOP having a one-seat majority, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (R) has sided with the Democrats in redistricting cases. (O’Connor, who is 71, is retiring from the court after this year.)
Read the full storyTN-5 GOP Nominee Andy Ogles on Inflation, OPEC, and Energy Independence
Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional GOP Nominee Andy Ogles in studio to discuss inflation, OPEC, and the need for America to produce its own energy.
Read the full storyMark Gonsalves Says Lucy McBath Should Return GA-06 Constituent Donations After District Switch
Republican nominee Mark Gonsalves (R-GA-07) criticized Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) for her decision to change from the 6th District to the 7th District in the middle of a congressional cycle when he spoke with The Georgia Star News on Monday.
“In essence it provides a person a credential that they do not deserve or warrant, and there a lot of people that vote and think, ‘oh, well she must have been my Congressperson.’ Well, that’s not true for 86% of constituents. So, I think it’s very deceptive. That’s how I would describe it,” Gonsalves said.
Read the full storyOhio Supreme Court Again Rejects GOP-Drawn Congressional Maps
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a second Republican-drawn map of congressional districts after previously rejecting the state’s first proposed maps on the grounds they favored the GOP.
Though the court ruled the second set of proposed district lines were fairer to the Democrats than the first, it still ruled 4-3 that they “unduly favored” the Republicans, according to the Epoch Times. The court gave lawmakers 30 days to redraw the maps yet again. The state’s redistricting commission will have 30 days to create a new proposal should lawmakers fail to do so.
Read the full storyIf Elected to Congress, TN-5 Candidate Beierlein’s Number One Task: Impeach Mayorkas
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN-5 congressional candidate Jeff Beierlein in studio to discuss Alejandro Mayorkas’s blatant lies about the southern border and his number one goal if elected to Congress in 2022.
Read the full storyOhio Secretary of State Announces Board of Education Districts; Democrats Object
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced this week that the state Board of Education district boundaries will conform to the plan Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued in January, spurring objections from Democratic lawmakers.
Nineteen individuals sit on the state Board of Education, with 11 of them standing for election. Five of the elected seats are up in this fall’s general election and those wishing to run must file by August 10.
TN-59 GOP Candidate Michelle Foreman Talks New District Boundaries, Her Opponent, and Campaigning in the Heat
Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee’s 59th Congressional District GOP candidate and former psychiatric nurse Michelle Foreman in-studio to discuss her district’s boundaries, her opponent, and campaigning in the heat.
Read the full storyVulnerable Democrat Congressman Tom O’Halleran Receives Funding Boost from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Super PAC
Congressman Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01), who is facing an uphill battle to re-election in a newly-drawn congressional district, received a funding boost from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
According to financial disclosures from the Federal Election Commission, Pelosi’s superPAC, PAC to the Future, sent O’Halleran a check for $5,000.
Read the full storyFederal Court Imposes Unconstitutional Maps for Ohio State Legislative Primaries
Federal judges made good on a promise at midnight Saturday by implementing Ohio state legislative district maps that were previously ruled unconstitutional twice by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, by a vote of 2-1, also ordered the state to hold its second primary Aug. 2.
“Given the factual record before us, two reasons justified our approach. First, no map had wo the approval of both the Commission and the Ohio Supreme Court. And second, Map 3 gave the state the most time to fix its own problem. That broke the tie,” the order, signed by judges Amul Thapar and Benjamin Beaton, read.
Read the full storyDemocrats’ Dreams Turn to Dust as Adjudicated Redistricting Maps Set the Stage for Large Republican Gains in 2022
The Democratic Party’s hopes of gaining seats from redistricting have been crushed as court decisions and an increasingly aggressive GOP produced more Republican-friendly maps.
Democrats were initially optimistic that they could mitigate projected midterm losses in the House when it appeared they were poised to score wins in the redistricting process. However, the party’s hopes have been dashed after key losses in major states erased their redistricting advantage.
Read the full storyDoors Locked at Ohio Redistricting Commission Meeting Room
Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission invited the five Republican members to a commission meeting Monday morning after contacting members several times over the past week asking for the group to reconvene.
When House Minority leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, and Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, showed up to the committee meeting room at the Ohio Statehouse, the doors were locked and no Republican showed up.
Read the full storyAlways Right with Host Bob Frantz: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on the Continuation of Moving Goal Posts
Monday morning on Always Right with Bob Frantz, weekday mornings on AM 1420 The Answer, host Frantz welcomed Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to the show to discuss the strategy of Democrats to ‘sue until their blue’ and violate the Ohio constitution.
Read the full storyOhio Secretary of State Blasts Supreme Court Ruling Blocking Redistricting Maps
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose blasted a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, which blocked the state’s redistricting maps for the fourth time.
The ruling requires a new set of maps to be drawn and submitted to the Court and the Secretary of State’s office by May 6th.
Read the full storyTennessee Supreme Court Strikes Down Lower Court’s Redistricting Injunction That Would Have Required Drawing New State Senate Districts
The Tennessee Supreme Court struck down a temporary injunction issued by a three-judge panel that would have mandated drawing new state Senate districts.
Originally, a ruling from the lower court forced the legislative body to “fix” the boundaries within 15 days of the decision, or the judicial branch would have created its own map.
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelist Clint Brewer Discusses Tennessee State House and Senate Redistricting Issues
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to discuss the issue of redistricting in the Tennessee State House and Senate.
Read the full storyThe John Fredericks Show: Virginia State Senate Candidate John McGuire Talks Youngkin’s Tax Cut
Thursday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed House Delegates member John McGuire who is now running for the Virginia State Senate to talk about why his running and getting Governor Younkin’s tax cut passed through the Senate.
Read the full storyOhio Congressman Retires amid Redistricting
A U.S. Congressman from Ohio unexpectedly retired from his post Wednesday amid the state’s long and dramatic congressional redistricting saga.
“These long, drawn-out processes, in which the Ohio Supreme Court can take weeks and months to deliberate while demanding responses and filings from litigants within days, is detrimental to the state and does not serve the people of Ohio,” Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07) said. “It is irresponsible to effectively confirm the congressional map for this election cycle seven days before voting begins, especially in the Seventh Congressional District where almost 90 percent of the electorate is new and nearly two thirds is an area primarily from another district, foreign to any expectations or connection to the current Seventh District.”
Read the full storyLouisiana’s Republican Legislature Overrides Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards Veto of Redistricting Plan
Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature voted to override Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’s veto of the congressional redistricting plan they passed in mid-February.
The new congressional maps will maintain the partisan makeup status quo of the the state’s delegation to the United States House of Representatives.
Read the full storyGovernor DeSantis Calls Special Legislative Session After Vetoing Congressional Maps
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday issued a proclamation to establish a special legislative session, following his veto of the state’s proposed congressional maps.
According to the governor, sections of the map approved by lawmakers are unconstitutional; therefore, they must be redrawn.
Read the full storyOhio Redistricting Commission Adopts Modified Versions of Thrown-Out Maps
Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission passed a modified version of state legislative districts previously ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court, bypassing the efforts of two independent map makers it hired last week.
An hour before Monday’s 11:59 p.m. court ordered deadline, the commission voted along party lines, 5-2, in favor of maps drawn by Republicans.
Democrats claimed the approved maps again were drawn in secret while the map makers worked for days in public to develop maps. House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, called it a slap in the face to Ohio voters.
Read the full storyState Representative Jerry Sexton Declines to Run for Re-Election
State Representative Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) will not seek another term as a lawmaker in the state House of Representatives, according to a report from The Tennessee Journal.
The Journal detailed that Sexton informed constituents of his decision at a Grainger County Lincoln Day Dinner.
Read the full storyCT-5 Democrat Incumbent Jahana Hayes Intimates Black GOP Opponent Only Running Because of Race
Democrat Incumbent U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes recently intimated to supporters in a Zoom call that her Black GOP opponent was only in the campaign because of his race.
Hayes also recently told supporters that if she loses her race in November, then Democrats all around the country are in trouble. Sources tell The Connecticut Star that Hayes is feeling the pressure in Connecticut’s highly competitive Fifth Congressional district contest.
Read the full storyNew Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu Unveils Redistricting Plan
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has unveiled his redistricting plan for the state’s two congressional districts.
This comes after Sununu, a Republican, promised to veto the GOP-controlled legislature’s approved redistricting plan.
Read the full storySenator Proposes Changes to Pennsylvania’s Redistricting Commission
State Sen. David Argall (R-Mahanoy City) last week proposed two constitutional amendments that would affect state-legislative redistricting in Pennsylvania.
The first reform the senator wants to make would change the process for choosing the chair of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC), which oversees remapping of the General Assembly’s districts every 10 years. Current law directs the state Supreme Court to pick a chairperson, effectively deciding which party controls the five-member commission on which the Republican and Democratic leaders of the state House and state Senate sit.
Read the full storyNew Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu to Veto Republican Legislature Redistricting Plan
New Hampshire Governor Republican Chris Sununu has declared that he will veto the redistricting plan that was passed by the state Senate on Thursday.
The plan had previously passed the state House in January.
Read the full storyNew Hampshire State Senate Set to Vote on House-Passed Redistricting Proposal
The New Hampshire State Senate is set to vote on the House-approved redistricting plan on Thursday.
New Hampshire is one of four remaining states that have yet to complete their congressional redistricting process. The others are Louisiana, Florida, and Missouri.
Read the full storyWarRoom Battleground: Democrats’ Hyper-Aggressive Map Drawing and ‘Sue to Blue’ Lawfare Strategies Put Republicans at a Disadvantage Heading into the 2022 Elections
Tuesday morning on War Room Battleground, host Bannon welcomed Tennessee Star journalist Aaron Gulbransen to the show to discuss the aggressive nature of Democrats reducing Republican House seats through lawfare.
Read the full storyDemocrats Currently Lead in National Redistricting Efforts with Four States Still Completing Process
Democrats currently have the lead in redistricting efforts with four states still working on new maps.
Forty states, 46 if the states that have one congressional district are included, have finished the process of drawing new maps for U.S. House of Representatives districts. Only Florida, Missouri, Louisiana, and New Hampshire have yet to finish their redistricting process.
Read the full storyWisconsin Republicans File Lawsuit to Block New Redistricting Maps
Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature officially filed a lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the maps proposed by Governor Evers and selected by the Wisconsin Supreme are unconstitutional.
According to the lawsuit, the boundaries selected by the state Supreme Court are a racial gerrymander.
Read the full storyU.S. Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Appeals in North Carolina, Pennsylvania
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals from Republicans in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, an attempt to prevent the states’ redistricting maps.
GOP leaders in both states asked the Court for a temporary stay of the two maps in order to block them from being fully enacted. Because the ruling is not on the constitutionality of the maps, litigation can continue while the boundaries are in place.
Read the full storyWisconsin Supreme Court Selects Redistricting Maps Proposed by Governor Evers
The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted a redistricting proposal offered by Governor Tony Evers, a move less favorable to Republicans.
The ruling was issued on a razor-thin margin, as swing Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote the opinion in the 4 to 3 decision. According to the decision, the justices selected the map by Evers because it proposed “the map with the least change.”
Read the full storyConnecticut Supreme Court Picked Redistricting Maps That Maintain Partisan Makeup Status Quo of 5th Congressional District
The Connecticut Supreme Court picked redistricting maps that maintain the partisan status quo of the 5th Congressional District.
Prior to redistricting, CT-5 was given a partisan rating by Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight of D+3. The Connecticut Supreme Court approved the state’s new congressional maps on February 10, 2022 and the 5th district’s partisan rating remains the same. The court took control of the process after a bipartisan body of state legislators failed to come to an agreement on the lines.
Read the full storyGeorgia Redistricting Causes Democrat Incumbent U.S. Representative Lucy McBath to Flee the State’s 6th Congressional District
Georgia’s redistricting process has caused Democrat Incumbent U.S. Representative Lucy McBath to flee the 6th Congressional District, leaving an open seat.
McBath has left the race for the Sixth district and is running in the much bluer neighboring new Seventh district, taking on fellow Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux. The new GA-7 has a partisan rating of D+16. According to the FEC, McBath has raised $3,199,954.75 and has a war chest of $2,452,731.80 cash on hand. Bourdeaux has $2,005,771.81 cash on hand and has raised $2,406,048.45 for the 2022 election cycle.
Read the full storyPennsylvania Redistricting Results in Slight Democrat Partisan Edge for the State’s 17th Congressional District
The Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s selection of the state’s new congressional maps has given Democrats a slight partisan edge in the 17th Congressional District.
Prior to redistricting, PA-17 was given a partisan rating by fivethirtyeight of R+2. It is now rated D+1. The Cook Political Report says the race for the seat is currently a tossup.
Read the full storyOhio Redistricting Commission Passes Third Set of State Legislative Maps
The GOP-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission has passed its third set of state legislative maps, a week after a court-ordered deadline and with one Republican objection.
The 4-3 commission vote means if the maps are approved by the Ohio Supreme Court, they last only four years rather than the traditional 10 that would have happened with bipartisan support on the commission.
Commission Co-Chair and House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, said the new maps, which were passed late Thursday, met all the constitutional requirements established when voters created the commission and twice when the court ruled previous maps were unfairly gerrymandered to benefit Republicans.
Read the full storyAll-Star Panelist Clint Brewer Comments on the Tennessee Democrats’ Redistricting Lawsuit
Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Public Affairs Specialist and all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to weigh in on recent Democratic lawsuit filed in response to Middle Tennessee’s redistricting.
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