Census changes may spell trouble for Michigan Democrats as redistricting starts

LANSING — Heavy population losses in Detroit, Flint and other cities could put Democrats at a disadvantage when new congressional and state legislative districts are drawn this year.

Democrats represent the three congressional districts that lost the greatest share of residents in the 2020 U.S. Census, the 13th and 14th in southeast Michigan and 5th on the state’s east side.

But statewide population changes — growth on the west side, stagnation north of Lansing and decline in the Thumb — mean that districts in GOP strongholds also will be dramatically reshaped when the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission crafts new political maps from census data this year.

Michigan’s congressional representation is now divided 7-7 between Democrats and Republicans, but the state will lose a seat next year because of slow state growth, falling to 13.

Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/census-changes-may-spell-trouble-michigan-democrats-redistricting-starts