Now with partisan data!
In 2001, PA Republicans wrote the book on how not to redistrict. Luckily (for them anyway), they get a do-over in 2011. My goal with this map was:
1) Make PA-17 a Harrisburg->Reading->Scranton Dem vote sink for Holden.
2) Make PA-13 a bit of a Dem vote sink to help out PA-08.
3) Put Critz and Altmire in the same district.
4) Not go after Altmire/Critz and repeat the mistake of 2001.
5) Help out as many freshmen Republicans as possible.
Western PA
PA-03 Mike Kelly (R-Butler)
Due to geographical considerations, there's only so much you can do with PA-03. I could've taken it down to Lawrence County to weaken Altmire, but that would be a dummymander. Instead, it gets more of Vernango, Butler, and Armstrong Counties. This shifts the district about 1.5 points right.
48% Obama 51% McCain
R+4
PA-04 Jason Altmire (D-McCandless), Mark Critz (D-Johnstown)
I take PA-04 and shoot an arm eastward to pick up Mark Critz's home in Johnstown. No matter what Critz decides to do, he will not be re-elected. Again, I decided to not go after Altmire. The GOP will be hoping that the district's trend to the right continues and that they will have this district by the end of the decade without any drastic changes. I keep the partisan breakdown the same.
44% Obama 55% McCain
R+6
PA-14 Mike Doyle (D-Forest Hills)
Mike Doyle's Pittsburgh-based Dem vote sink needs to pick up a bunch of people. The interesting thing here is that I shoot an arm up into Beaver County to take in heavy Dem areas around Aliquippa and another arm into the northeastern part of Allegheny County to take in Harrison and Arnold.
69% Obama 31% McCain
D+18
PA-18 Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair)
I was a bit leery of adding a bunch of new territory to Murphy's district AND using him to hurt Altmire, so again, I avoided Altmire. I managed to keep the partisan breakdown of this district the same as before.
44% Obama 55% McCain
R+6
PA-05 Glenn Thompson (R-Howard)
Rep. Thompson maintains his central rural district without too much change. Partisan breakdown stays the same.
44% Obama 55% McCain
R+9
PA-09 Bill Shuster (R-Hollidaysburg)
Rep. Shuster takes one for the team here. His district is the most Republican in the state, so it can afford to take a bit of a hit. He soaks up the most Democratic parts of Critz's district. This makes PA-09 about 6-7 points less Republican.
42% Obama 57% McCain
R+11
PA-12 Todd Platts (R-York)
This is the old 19th district. Rep. Platts maintains his York-based district and expands a bit to the west. He picks up a couple of points and this district is now the most Republican in the state.
41% Obama 58% McCain
R+14
Eastern PA
PA-17 Tim Holden (D-Saint Clair)
This district is the centerpiece of PA redistricting. The GOP tried and failed to get rid of Holden in 2001. Now they will accommodate him. The new district runs from Harrisburg, over to Reading, then up to Scranton. I think the key is that it keeps most of his stronghold of Schuylkill County. It gets 13 points more Democratic.
61% Obama 38% McCain
D+7
PA-10 Tom Marino (R-Williamsport)
Rep. Marino's district picks up territory along every edge. He is the weakest GOP congressman of the bunch, so I couldn't weaken him at all. The partisan breakdown of this district remains the same.
45% Obama 54% McCain
R+8
PA-11 Lou Barletta (R-Hazleton)
Rep. Barletta's reward for winning in a 57% Obama district is a new district that is 12 points friendlier. This should be safe Republican for a while.
44% Obama 54% McCain
R+8
PA-16 Joe Pitts (R-Kennett Square)
Rep. Pitts' district takes up nearly all of Lancaster County and has a few forays into Chester, York, and Dauphin. Not having to go into Reading helps him a couple points.
46% Obama 53% McCain
R+10
PA-06 Jim Gerlach (R-Chester Springs)
Rep. Gerlach is also a big winner with the new PA-13 and PA-17. His district becomes a bit more regularly drawn and 7 points more Republican.
51% Obama 48% McCain
R+3
PA-15 Charlie Dent (R-Allentown)
It's tough to do much with Rep. Dent's district. I did manage a one point shift, however.
55% Obama 44% McCain
D+1
Philadelphia
PA-01 Bob Brady (D-Philadelphia)
Brady's district is most of the white parts of Philadelphia with arms shooting into Delaware County to help out Pat Meehan. Still overwhelmingly Democratic.
84% Obama 16% McCain
D+31
PA-02 Chaka Fattah (D-Philadelphia)
Rep. Fattah's Philadelphia district contains much of the minority areas. Another safe Dem seat, maybe the safest seat in the country. CPVI should be right up there with NY-15 and NY-16. An added bonus is that I drew Allyson Schwartz into this district just for kicks.
61% AA
93% Obama 7% McCain
D+41
PA-07 Pat Meehan (R-Drexel Hill)
Rep. Meehan gets some relief with PA-01 picking up some Dem districts and with his expansion into Chester County. Even with the 3 point gain, this is still an Obama district.
53% Obama 46% McCain
EVEN
PA-08 Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Levittown)
The biggest help for Rep. Fitzpatrick comes in the form of Allyson Schwatz picking up southern Bucks County. He manges to trade a few Obama districts for McCain ones. This swings the district 3 points in his favor
51% Obama 48% McCain
R+1
PA-13 Allyson Schwartz (D-Jenkintown)
Although she no longer lives here, Rep. Schwartz will run here anyway. The district becomes a Dem vote sink to help out PA-08 and PA-06. It has moved 4-5 points left.
63% Obama 36% McCain
D+11
As drawn, this is a 12-6 Republican map. However, there are more than a couple swing districts in the bunch. PA-03, PA-04, PA-06, PA-07, PA-08, PA-15 are all really tossups. Summary of the movement of each district:
PA-01: R+4
PA-02: D+3
PA-03: R+1
PA-04: 0
PA-05: 0
PA-06: R+7
PA-07: R+3
PA-08: R+3
PA-09: D+6
PA-10: 0
PA-11: R+12
PA-12: R+2
PA-13: D+4
PA-14: R+1
PA-15: R+1
PA-16: R+2
PA-17: D+13
PA-18: 0