New Congressional districts to be announced this afternoon, could pit Lynch against Keating

[Ian David]

New Congressional districts to be announced this afternoon, could pit Lynch against Keating
By Frank Phillips and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Legislative leaders, who are set to release new congressional district boundaries this afternoon, have finalized a plan that will likely create a face-off between two Democratic incumbents in the South Shore and Norfolk County.

The new congressional delegation map would leave Representative William R. Keating with a choice, according to sources briefed on the matter: either move to his Cape Cod summer home and run in a newly crafted district, or remain in Quincy and compete against Representative Stephen F. Lynch, who is based in South Boston.

The map would create, for the first time in decades, a congressional seat combining the entire Cape and Islands with the South Shore and parts of Plymouth County, eliminating some of the sprawl within the current congressional boundaries.

But Keating, who now represents the Cape and the South Shore, would be politically vulnerable if he leaves his base in Quincy and and tries to take on more unfamiliar constituents in the new district. That, they say, could make a face-off with Lynch more likely.

More:
http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/11/new-congressional-districts-announced-this-afternoon-could-pit-lynch-against-keating/L3g62l04q3NKuWwvMmEb2H/index.html