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Party Chairs At Odds Over Fight To Defend Ohio’s Congressional Map
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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The state will continue its fight to defend Ohio’s Congressional map in court, after last week’s federal court ruling that the map is unconstitutionally gerrymandered. While the map came out of a deal between state lawmakers of both parties, Republicans and Democrats are at odds in the battle over it.
Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper said a fairly drawn map of the bellwether state of Ohio wouldn’t have 12 Republicans and 4 Democrats in every election since the map was created.
“They don’t expect it to be exact but you’d expect to have not guaranteed 12-4,” Pepper said.
Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken doesn’t defend the current map, but said given where each party’s voters live, guaranteeing an even split would also be gerrymandering.
“This artificial creation of what the state wide voter turnout and election results were on a specific congressional district – they need to represent the voters in that district,” said Timken.
The map passed in 2011 after a bipartisan deal to avoid a second primary in 2012 that would have been just for Congressional districts.