(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Senator says there is a difference between the move to redraw Texas’ congressional map and the move to do the same in Wisconsin.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin told reporters the request to redraw Wisconsin’s political map is not inherently political.
“While Wisconsin, I don’t think, is one that is going to be one that does partisan redistricting, I can’t criticize too harshly those governors in blue states that are saying ‘We should reconsider our maps,’” Baldwin said.
Democrats from Texas fled to the state earlier this month to try and stop Texas Republicans from redrawing their map to add five more Republican-heavy congressional districts. Baldwin blamed that move on President Trump.
But she also said Democrats cannot sit by and watch it happen.
“We can’t fight back with one hand tied behind our backs,” she added.
There is a push to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional map, as well.
A handful of law firms filed a lawsuit in June that asks the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court to correct the state’s “anti-competitive gerrymander.”
Specifically, the firms want to redraw western Wisconsin’s 3rd District where Republican Derrick Van Orden has won two close races in the past two elections.
The firms also want new boundaries for southern Wisconsin’s 1st District. Republican Congressman Bryan Steil has won that seat with slightly larger margins than Van Orden, but the firms say both should be more Democrat-friendly.
The Wisconsin Court has not said if it will take the case. The court has already rejected a separate request to redraw Wisconsin’s maps.
Baldwin continued to say that she would prefer to see politics taken completely out of the redistricting process.
“I’d like to see us move, nationally, in the direction of non-partisan redistricting,” Baldwin explained.
