Kentucky State Senate
Below you'll find my alternative to the Kentucky State Senate district map. My version displays a better way of keeping together communities of interest, while respecting political and geographical boundaries. There were a few instances in which the actual boundaries couldn't match up using DRA, however, these discrepancies aren't large enough to have a significant impact. The district numbering keeps to the previous numbering as closely as possible.
Western 1-6, 8, 32
Kentucky has, obviously, become a solidly Republican state as regions like this, which were once part of the Democratic base, continue trending rightward. While Obama got above 40% in a few districts in 2008, today Democrats really aren't as competitive. The least Republican leaning district is now the Bowling Green based 32nd, which has an R+14 PVI. The boundary changes in most districts are done to improve cohesion of communities of interest. The 1st district is comprised of Calloway, Fulton, Graves, Hilton, and Marshall counties. The 2nd district is made up of Ballard, Carlisle, Crittenden, Livingston, McCracken, and Union counties. The 3rd district consists of Christian, Lyon, Todd, and Trigg counties. The 4th district has Caldwell, Henderson, Hopkins, and Webster counties. The 5th Breckinridge, Edmondson, Grayson, Meade, and Ohio counties. The 6th is Allen, Butler, Logan, Muhlenburg, and Simpson cuonties. Districts 8 and 32 are left alone, the former taking Daviess, Hancock and McLean counties, and the latter being only Warren County.
Central Kentucky 9, 10, 14-16, 34
Another region of solidly Republican region districts, the least Republican leaning district is the 10th with an R+15 PVI. The 10th also sees the least boundary changes, being comprised of all of Hardin County, and part of Jefferson County. The 9th district takes Barren, Cumberland, Green, Hart, Larue, Monroe, and Metcalfe counties. The 14th consists of Marion, Nelson, Spencer, Taylor, and Washington counties. The 15th consists of Adair, Boyle, Casey, Lincoln, and Mercer counties. The 16th is made from Clinton, Pulaski, Russell, and Wayne. The 34th has Garrard, Madison, and Rockcastle counties.
Cumberland Plateau 18, 21, 25, 29-31
Once a Democratic stronghold in Appalachian Kentucky, this region has zoomed rightward. The least Republican leaning district here is the 18th, which is left alone in my version, taking in Boyd, Carter, and Greenup counties; its PVI at R+17. A few years ago some other districts would have been competitive, like the 30th. While this district currently has an R+23 PVI, It gave McCain 50%, and Obama 47%, of the vote in 2008. This district includes once reliably Democratic Elliot County, as well as Breathitt, Knott, Floyd, Magoffin, Menifee, Morgan, and Wolfe counties. The 21st district consists of Laurel, McCreary, and Whitley counties. The 25th is comprised of Clay, Estill, Jackson, Lee, Leslie, Perry, Powell, and Owsley counties. The 29th has Bell, Harlan, Knox, and Letcher counties. The 31st is made from Johnson, Lawrence, Martin, and Pike counties.
Bluegrass 7, 11-13, 17, 20, 22-24, 27, 28
This region is slightly less Republican leaning, but still heavily Republican, overall. The two districts in Fayette County, where Lexington is located, are the only obvious Democratic targets. The 13th sits at D+10 in large part due to a significant Black voting Bloc, 20% VAP, and its boundaries are more compact. The neighboring 12th moves from R+7 to R+2 and has significantly improved boundaries. The 28th takes the remainder of the county, along with Bourbon and Clark counties.
The 7th district consists of Anderson, Franklin, and Shelby counties. The 11th remains the same being only Boone County. The 17th changes a lot now being comprised of part of Kenton County, along with Bracken, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Owen, Pendleton, and Robertson counties. The 22nd takes in Jessamine, Scott, and Woodford counties. The 23rd includes most of Kenton County's sub-urban municipalities, as this area is right across from Cincinnati. The 24th, at R+10, is the next least Republican leaning district in this region. This is accomplished by combining Campbell County with most of Covington in Kenton County. Finally, the 27th is made up of Bath, Fleming, Lewis, Mason, Montgomery, Nicholas, and Rowan counties.
Louisville 19, 26, 33, 35-38
As you can see, my version has more compact districts. What's not as obvious are the improved cohesion of communities of interest and increased competitiveness. The 19th is still a D+6 district, but moves south to absorb a significant Black voting bloc, which increases the districts' Black VAP from 8% to 23%. This allows the my 26th to pick up a lot of territory from the actual 19th. The actual 26th consists of all of Oldham County and part of Jefferson County and has an R+11 PVI. My 26th is entirely within Jefferson County and has a D+9 PVI. The 33rd is drawn to elect a Black senator in both versions. My version unpacks Black voters from 56% VAP to 47% VAP. The district is still solidly Democratic and there are still enough Black voters in my version to elect a Black senator. The 35th is mostly white with a large Black voting bloc. The actual district has a Black VAP of 35%; my 35th has a Black VAP of 31%. Both versions are solidly Democratic. My more compact 36th moves to the left from R+6 to R+3, while my 37th moves to the right from R+2 to R+9. Finally, my 38th combines Bullitt County with the most outlying and least urban parts of Jefferson County, and is of course solidly Republican.
Currently, the Kentucky State Senate favors Republicans. This is in part due to having been drawn to do so, but also because of the increasing hostility towards Democrats in the state. My version does allow more opportunities for Democrats to win and compete, mostly in the Lexington and Louisville areas, as the districts there are more compact and practical. Still, Republicans would be favored even in my version to consistently win majorities. However, the partisan makeup would not be as lopsided in my version.
Thanks for reading!
The maps were created using Dave’s Redistricting App: gardow.com/…
The charts and data were assembled using spreadsheets via Stephen Wolf’s guide: www.dailykos.com/…
The Statistical Atlas was used to match the district numbering: statisticalatlas.com/…
Google Images aided in determining the regional breakdown
Links to North Carolina Maps
Alternative Districts: North Carolina State Senate
Alternative Districts: North Carolina State House of Representatives