Our new book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. Among other things, it discusses state and congressional elections.
Democrats are seizing opportunities in states like New York to draw friendly House districts aimed at knocking out Republican incumbents, making unexpected gains in the decennial practice that the GOP has dominated over the last 10 years.
Even so, Senate Republicans say they still have no interest in new federal legislation to ban partisan gerrymandering. And the recent Democratic gains haven't swayed them, even as the Cook Political Report found last week that Democrats are "on track to net two to three seats from new maps alone."
"That's just the way the game has always been played," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said with a shrug.
Asked whether he'd support federal legislation to limit partisan gerrymandering, he said: "Nah, just the courts can handle it."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he doesn't support new legislation to put guardrails on gerrymandering.
"I don't have any silver bullets for it," he said. "The main protection is the Voting Rights Act in minority voting districts. Other than that, it's pretty much the wild, Wild West."
The cycle isn’t over yet, and the balance of power could still change as battles play out in courtrooms and remaining states.
But regardless of which way it swings, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chair of the GOP's Senate campaign arm, said in an interview that Congress should stay out of redistricting battles.
