We're taking a tour of the most outrageous Republican gerrymanders in the nation. Read why in our introductory post, and click here for the full series.
Michigan’s 11th Congressional District centers on the heavily white and wealthy suburbs north and west of Detroit. This district used to more compactly lie along Detroit’s western suburbs, but Republicans redrew it in 2011 to solidify their weakening hold over the district by attaching loopy appendages into nearby Republican turf north of the city. The current version supported Mitt Romney by 52-46, and although Hillary Clinton probably improved on Obama’s support in this highly educated seat, Republican Rep. Dave Trott comfortably won a second term 53-40 over an underfunded Democratic opponent.
This district is part of an overall Republican gerrymander that gave them a 9-to-5 edge over Democrats in the congressional delegation in the last three election cycles, even when Michigan voted for Barack Obama by 54-45 in 2012 and just barely for Donald Trump in 2016. We proposed a set of nonpartisan congressional maps for every state, and without gerrymandering, the 11th might have once more been situated solely west of Detroit rather than looping around to the north. Doing so would turn it into a seat Obama actually carried 55-44, which Democrats likely would have won in 2016, meaning this gerrymander took what should have been a Democratic-leaning seat and made it lean decidedly Republican instead.
Tell us what you think the district looks like in the comments!