Minnesota hangs onto all eight congressional seats

Minnesota hangs onto all eight congressional seats

Jeremy Herb
Minneapolis Star Tribune
December 21, 2010

WASHINGTON - Minnesota will keep all eight congressional seats for the next decade, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau figures released Tuesday.

Minnesota received the final seat in the reapportionment process of redrawing congressional boundaries, hanging onto its eight seats by less than 9,000 people. Had the state counted 8,739 fewer people -- or if North Carolina had 15,754 more people -- Minnesota would have lost a seat, said Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services, which analyzes census data.

Minnesota's total population in the 2010 census is 5,314,879. The country's population is 308,745,538 as of April 1.

A state's congressional seat count is important because it affects clout in presidential elections as well as influence in Washington. Because the 435 seats in the House is a fixed number, the reapportionment process is in essence a zero-sum game.

"As our state faces dire budget circumstances and Minnesota families continue to struggle in a tough economy, we simply could not afford to lose an important voice in our national policy discussion, nor the billions of federal dollars that are allocated to our state based on population," incoming DFL Gov. Mark Dayton said in a statement.

By keeping all eight seats, Minnesota's legislature avoids the messy process of deciding which congressional district to carve up.

But even with its eight congressional seats intact, the state will still have to redraw the lines to reflect population shifts. The last four decades the redistricting process has ended up in court.

Incoming Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen said the coming redistricting fight will be "a real test of Republicans' ability to govern responsibly."

After the 2010 election, Republicans gained control of the Minnesota House and Senate, while the DFL took the governor's mansion.

"Minnesota has a longstanding tradition of free and fair elections, high voter participation, and a highly engaged public," said Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis. "Today, we call on the Republican majority to put Minnesota's electoral integrity above partisan political games as we move forward with redistricting."

With a divided government, it will be difficult to come up with a plan that both Dayton and the legislature approve -- even as both sides pledge cooperation now.

"We are committed to developing a fair redistricting plan, which recognizes recent demographic changes that have occurred in Minnesota and gives minorities the best opportunity for representation," said Michael Brodkorb, the Republican Party's redistricting lead.

The demographic changes he's alluding to? Population growth in Republican-leaning exurbs and population loses in Democratic-leaning urban areas and the Iron Range.

Early next year, after all the Census numbers are revealed, the Legislature will get to work to draw new political boundaries for congressional and legislative districts in hopes of getting Dayton to sign them into law.

Minnesota wasn't in danger of losing a seat because the state's population had shrunk, but rather because population gains elsewhere were outpacing the state. The state's population growth rate of 7.8 percent was below the national average of 9.7 percent.

Contrasting estimates from census experts had the state losing a seat as well as being the last to keep its current total, both by margins of just several thousand people.

The state was aided by one of the highest census participation rates in the nation, as well as lower-than-average unemployment, said state demographer Tom Gillaspy.

But nationwide, the population shifts are favoring the South and West: Illinois, Iowa, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan are among those losing seats.

Texas will gain four seats, Florida will pick up two, and Arizona, Florida Georgia and Nevada are among the states adding seats.

In total, 12 seats will change hands in the next election.

Minnesota was the only Great Lakes state in 2000 not to lose a congressional seat. The trend continued this census, as the Midwest grew by just 3.9 percent in the last decade; the South, by contrast, grew more than 14 percent.

How the hell did Minnesota manage to hang onto their seats???

dblboggie wrote:How the hell did Minnesota manage to hang onto their seats???

Makes ya wonder. We barely pulled it out.

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:How the hell did Minnesota manage to hang onto their seats???

Makes ya wonder. We barely pulled it out.

I smell a rat here...

dblboggie wrote:

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:How the hell did Minnesota manage to hang onto their seats???

Makes ya wonder. We barely pulled it out.

I smell a rat here...

Yeah... Al Franken.

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:How the hell did Minnesota manage to hang onto their seats???

Makes ya wonder. We barely pulled it out.

I smell a rat here...

Yeah... Al Franken.

THAT'S IT!!!