As redistricting maps get finalized across the country, Democrats are in better shape than most pundits predicted following the 2020 election. Steve, Sharline and Julie share updates on the redistricting process and dive into the numbers to highlight how and where Democrats should focus their energy and investment to win this year.

We also discuss what’s wrong with the commonly held belief that the President’s party always suffers in the midterms. And Steve shares important takeaways from his latest article in The Guardian on the fight for voting rights.

REFERENCES:

Martin Luther King quotes

“So the great stumbling block and a stride toward freedom is not the white citizens counselor or the Ku Klux Klan or but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice, who prefers a negative peace, which is the absence of tension to a positive peace, which is the presence of justice who constantly says, I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action.”

“The white backlash of today is rooted in the same problem that has characterized America ever since the black man landed in chains on the shores of this nation.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones – @nhannahjones Twitter Thread https://twitter.com/nhannahjones/status/1483187472276328449?s=20

The Cook Political Report // David Wasserman – Redistricting Snapshots: Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina https://cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/redistricting/redistricting-snapshots-kentucky-louisiana-missouri-new-hampshire

FiveThirtyEight // Geoffrey Skelley and Nathaniel Rakich – Why The President’s Party Almost Always Has A Bad Midterm https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-presidents-party-almost-always-has-a-bad-midterm/

Loyola Law School – What is Redistricting? https://redistricting.lls.edu/redistricting-101/what-is-redistricting/

NBCnews // Rebecca Shabad – Wave of retirements rocks Democrats' hopes of holding the House https://nbcnews.com/politics/congress/wave-retirements-rocks-democrats-hopes-holding-house-n1286398

NPR // Carol Ritchie, Rachel Treisman, Nell Clark and Chris Hopkins – Start your day here: Senate Democrats force a showdown over voting rights measures https://npr.org/live-updates/morning-edition-2022-01-18

The New York Times // Nick Corasaniti, Reid J. Epstein, Taylor Johnston, Rebecca Lieberman, and Eden Weingart – How Maps Reshape American Politics https://nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/07/us/politics/redistricting-maps-explained.html

MSNBC // Jonathan Capehart – The Bye Line: Don’t Sit Out the Midterms https://msnbc.com/the-sunday-show/watch/the-bye-line-don-t-sit-out-the-midterms-120238149594

The Washington Post // Dan Balz – Ohio voters asked for fairness in redistricting. They didn’t get it. https://washingtonpost.com/politics/ohio-voters-asked-for-fairness-in-redistricting-they-didnt-get-it/2022/01/17/10bb1b8c-77a9-11ec-bf97-6eac6f77fba2_story.html