President Obama’s ambitious post-White House plan to aid Democrats: Eric Holder named chair of new n [View all]

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Last edited Tue Oct 18, 2016, 08:20 PM - Edit history (1)

by Sophia Tesfaye at Salon

President Obama’s ambitious post-White House plan to aid Democrats: Eric Holder named chair of new national redistricting effort

http://www.salon.com/2016/10/18/president-obamas-ambitious-post-white-house-plan-to-aide-democrats-eric-holder-named-chair-of-new-national-redistricting-effort/

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In a departure from his 2008 campaign rhetoric of hope and change aimed at creating bipartisan consensus in Washington D.C., President Barack Obama plans to dedicate his post-presidency to helping Democrats win elections nationwide by tackling redistricting reform — and he’s hand-picked Eric Holder to lead the charge.

The new group, called the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, will be led by former Attorney General Eric Holder, Politico reported Monday. Holder helped oversee the administration’s redistricting litigation while he served under the president.

With Republicans at the helm in statehouses nationwide, after the 2010 census, several traditionally Republican states got more House representatives, while blue states lost some. That is because Republicans controlled the process by which district maps are drawn, creating districts favorable to Republicans. This process, known as gerrymandering, is the secret to Republicans winning a majority in the House of Representatives. In 2014, Republicans got 52 percent of the votes but won 57 percent of the seats.

Despite the president’s early ambitions to break the partisan stalemate in Congress, throughout his two terms in office lower Democratic turnout in midterm years has enabled Republicans to win governors’ races and statehouse races that consolidate power in state capitals. Between 2008 and 2015, Democrats lost 13 Senate seats, 69 House seats, 913 state legislative seats, 11 governorships and 32 state legislative chambers, according to data compiled by University of Virginia professor Larry J. Sabato.



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