Census Results Could Be Really Good News for GOP

The Census Bureau will announce its new population figures tomorrow, and Republicans will likely be fans of the numbers. Based on the figures, as many as 18 states could see their number of congressional districts and representatives change, a political consultant tells NPR. Texas is set to gain three Congressional seats, Florida could gain two, and other Southern and Western states could pick up one. New York and Ohio may each lose two seats. Overall, GOP-leaning states are getting a boost, while Democratic and swing states are losing out.

In many cases, GOP governors and state legislatures will be in charge of determining district boundaries—more bad news for Dems in states that lose seats, since two incumbents could end up in the same district. On top of all this, the number of presidential electors a state gets is based on its number of representatives, so Democrats could be hurt in the presidential arena as well. NPR notes that states could challenge the figures in court, but the Census Bureau has won past cases, and would likely to do so again, according to officials
(More Census Bureau stories.)