Population growth captured in the 2020 census resulted in six states gaining seats in congress, while seven other states lose one each.
After the COVID-delayed completion of the once a decade population count, Texas led the gains with two additional seats, adding to the Lone Star State’s clout in congress. In addition, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Montana, and Oregon each added one seat a piece.
Aside from immigration (legal and illegal), where are all those extra people coming from? You guessed it, the painfully Woke State of California loses a seat for the first time. Here, the Califorinication of Texas meme rings true.
Suffering similar fates are liberal delegations from the likes of New York and Illinois, who, along with Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, will each be losing one seat in congress.
While you might think states facing an exodus which could be reasonably attributed to the acute political and cultural trends within their borders might dial it back amid fleeing people, businesses and capital; the Leftists in power there only seem to be doubling down on the Woke. The People, however, show signs of throwing off the yoke of tyranny.
In addition to those Californians voting with their feet, California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing recall on account of his Pandemic Panic policies. Losing a seat in congress may provide further confirmation of, and resistance too, the political and cultural factors that drive such an exodus.
Meanwhile, conservative bulwarks like Texas see growth.
While it’s tempting to attribute it all to relatively sound policies attracting capital, jobs, and people, it doesn’t all come in the same form. Fleeing Californians seeking less repressive environs in the Lone Star State, often bring their Leftist voting habits. Immigrants pouring across the insecure border into Texas can push balances to a tipping point.
While Texas isn’t blue by any means, the 2020 elections presented the most intrigue ever regarding just how purple it may be.
Even so, the trend away from generally liberal states, toward conservative ones, has found more confirmation with the census findings and resulting congressional apportionment.
Beyond the headliners of Texas and California, we might draw more still from how other states and are growing or shrinking. Florida is a clear winner, and it’s conservative growth trend evidently strong, but other states are more nuanced.
To wit, North Carolina, a critical swing state in recent elections, has gained a seat. The Tar Heel State has a Republican state legislature, and has for over a decade, but is plagued by a Biden-following, Woke-pandering Democrat Governor Roy Cooper; it has growth concentrated in relatively bluer, urban areas of the state, but majorities of voters have supported the likes of voter ID requirements and the marriage amendment.
On the flip side, states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, epitomize rust belt attrition, reflected in losing seats in congress, but they also sport strong, blue collar, America First factions that are sure to influence politics at their respective state legislatures in a big way.
They say all politics is local. We can see, through the migration and population trends confirmed in the census, how that can manifest on a national scale. It should be a big fat sign to all Democrats, but don’t hold your breath.