Charles H. Bradley III: Redistricting is topical, reminding of ‘Gov. Gerrymander’

To The Daily Sun,

“Governor Gerrymander” was coined in 1812, by combining then-Massachusetts’ Gov. Elbridge Gerry’s surname with the word salamander. "Governor Gerrymander" signed a bill that re-drew election districts within the state to favor his own political party.

The two main gerrymandering strategies are:

1. Packing: Concentrating like-minded voters into one district
2. Cracking: Dividing common interest voters across multiple districts

Ultimately, redistricting determines which political party controls the U.S. House of Representatives to either help or, in the case of Democrats, to hinder POTUS’ agenda.

In a recent political twist, Virginia Democrats invoked “Governor Gerrymander” to create a map that would have favored Democrats 10:1 in their state. However, their plan backfired because the Virginia Supreme Court ruled their redistricting plan was unconstitutional. That will have a national political impact to benefit Republicans, hopefully conservatives.

Also, in the case of Louisiana v. Callais, the U.S. Supreme Court knee-capped an attempt at racial redistricting and released "Governor Gerrymander" from prison.

Like St. Paul on the road to Damascus, Republicans belatedly saw the light and decided to join the redistricting trend in states like Florida and Texas. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state’s new redistricting map boosting Republicans seats by four ahead of the 2026 election. Many other Republican leaning states are now joining in the redistricting process.

Ray Charles sang one of my all-time favorite songs: “Georgia On My Mind.” Currently, it is “Redistricting On Everybody’s Mind." Democrats are being hoisted on their own sword. Now everyone knows why.

Charles H. Bradley III

Laconia