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Buckeye State Democrats bore the brunt of Republicans’ aggressive redraw of the state’s Congressional map. But they weren’t the only losers under the proposed lines released this week.
Ohio is losing two House seats in 2012 because the state’s population did not grow as quickly as others. GOP mapmakers moved six Members into three House districts, giving Republicans an expected 12-4 edge in the delegation.
Here’s our take on which Ohio candidates got the best and worst of the new map.
Winners
• Columbus Democrats
Open the candidate floodgates. For a decade, Columbus Democrats ran with almost no success for two competitive seats that split through the middle of downtown. Not anymore now that Republicans drew a new urban Columbus 3rd district. Expect a long line of Democrats to form for this new seat, possibly including Columbus City Councilman Zach Klein, former Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, former state House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, former state Treasurer Kevin Boyce, state Rep. Nancy Garland, state Rep. John Patrick Carney and Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady.
Sources say the area’s most prominent Democrat, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, has no interest in running. But Coleman hasn’t made an official statement yet.
• Speaker John Boehner
He had a heavy hand in the new map that could eliminate two Democrats from the delegation. Need proof of the Republican’s power at home? He now has the safest GOP district in the state.
• GOP Reps. Steve Chabot, Patrick Tiberi and Jim Jordan
Chabot and Tiberi will run in some of the friendliest GOP territory they’ve ever had. Chabot gained GOP-rich Warren County, while Tiberi picked up more Republican territory in central Ohio.
As for Jordan, remember those summer news reports that Ohio Republicans would dismantle his district as retribution for crossing Boehner on the debt ceiling vote? That didn’t happen. Mapmakers moved more Democrats into his district, but it’s still a solidly GOP seat.
• Freshman GOP Reps. Bill Johnson and Bob Gibbs
The partisan composition of their districts changed only marginally. But these two Republicans are winners because they have districts all to themselves. That’s more than what some of their more senior Republican colleagues can say, given the proposed map.
Losers
• GOP Reps. Michael Turner and Steve Austria
They’re now in the same central Ohio district. Sources say this is payback for Turner’s vote against the debt ceiling bill this summer, and Austria’s fundraising is often lackluster. Turner has the upper hand in this redrawn district, but it’s going to be a competitive primary.
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