Gerrymandering helped them maintain control of the House. In fact, they call it a “blessing.” Last Friday, the Daily Kos discussed this, and named our own District 13 as an example:
IL-13: This story is from December but it’s still relevant for horserace watchers. Illinois’ 13th Congressional District was home to one of the tightest races in the country last year—just a thousand votes separated the winner from the loser—so it’s no surprise that GOP freshman Rodney Davis is already at the top of Democratic target lists for 2014. However, Barack Obama saw his performance in the district drop considerably: It went from a seat he carried by 11 points over John McCain to one he narrowly lost to Mitt Romney. That might help explain why several Democrats have already said no to a race against Davis, including state Sen. Mike Frerichs, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz, Champaign City Council member Paul Faraci, and Normal Mayor Chris Koos.
They also point out that, while Mayor Gerard isn’t ruling out running for congress, he seems “reluctant,” and quote him as saying that it’s “never been [his] dream to be a congressman.”
One point: It’s important to remember that in Illinois, the Democrats actually had control of the gerrymandering process. Supposedly, they hoped to turn District 13 Democratic. Is this a case of being hoisted by their own petard? Don’t you just love politics?