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Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 75 -- Congressional Elections.

THE VANISHING COMPETITIVE CONGRESSIONAL SEAT-

Will the Democrats take over the House of Representatives in 2006? Not likely. There just aren't many opportunities for that to happen.

While the American population and electorate have more than tripled since 1910, the number of total congressional seats has not once wavered from 435 since then (other than, as our astute readers have pointed out, a brief period following the admission to the Union of Alaska and Hawaii, when the total number of seats was temporarily raised to 437).

What, then, has caused the political landscape to be so polarized? Redistricting?

Maybe a little.

...migration and demographic changes have been the prime culprits responsible over the long term for regional polarization of party support and fewer opportunities for mapmakers to carve out districts featuring relative party parity.

In other words, people are moving to places with people who think like them, politically. This is happening on a national scale, with people moving South and West to find employment, escape higher taxes, own their own homes, raise kids, and have an overall better quality of life. Within regions of the country, people are segregating themselves by politics. Even within cities, more people are moving into or out of neighborhoods to fit their politics, sometimes unwittingly or out of necessity. But it's happening.

Source:

David Wasserman and Larry J. Sabato, U.Va. Center for Politics-- Sabato's Crystal Ball.

Previous trivia tidbits:

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part 12; Part 13; Part 14; Part 15; Part 16; Part 17; Part 18; Part 19; Part 20; Part 21, Part 22; Part 23, Part 24, Part 25; Part 26; Part 27, Part 28; Part 29; Part 30, Part 31; Part 32; Part 33; Part 34; Part 35; Part 36; Part 37; Part 38; Part 39; Part 40; Part 41; Part 42; Part 43; Part 44; Part 45; Part 46; Part 47; Part 48; Part 49; Part 50; Part 51; Part 52; Part 53; Part 54; Part 55; Part 56; Part 57; Part 58; Part 59; Part 60; Part 61; Part 62; Part 63; Part 64; Part 65; Part 66; Part 67; Part 68; Part 69; Part 70; Part 71; Part 72; Part 73; Part 74.

Daily Trivia Tidbits cover a wide range of topics, and they're usually not trivial at all; you never know what you might find. Stay tuned to WILLisms.com for more.

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Posted by Will Franklin · 12 June 2005 11:07 AM

Comments

Posted by: Robert Mayer at June 12, 2005 07:22 PM