Post-census redistricting battles are still seven years away, but in order to cement what by then better be a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives they are at least worth a glance right now. Eight republican controlled states hold the key:

Congressional Delegations
	Current      Possible
Arizona     2	       5
Colorado    2	       4
Florida     7	      15
Michigan    6	       9
Ohio	   6	      11
Penn.	   7	      12
Texas	  12*	      17
Virginia    3	       6
Total	  45	      79

*Although the current Texas congressional delegation was elected under an old-Democratic produced map, the new map could cause a shift of up to five seats in the congressional delegation.

Better maps in these eight states could result in a shift of thirty-four seats, enough to cement a congressional majority won during our current decade throughout the entire next decade. While we certainly can win a significant amount of them back without better maps, all of them would become easier if we drew the lines. Here are the compositions of these eights assemblies / legislatures, along with the party that controls the Governorship (in 2000, Governors in all eight states were Republicans):

Republican Advantage 
	 House	  Senate   Governor
Arizona   39-20-1    17-13	     D
Colorado  37-28      18-17	     R
Florida   81-39      26-14	     R
Michigan  63-46      22-16	     D
Ohio	 62-36	   22-11      R
Penn.	112-94	   29-21      D
Texas	 88-61	   19-12      R   
Virginia  61-37-2    24-16	     D

I am not certain what houses in each state control the Congressional map, so maybe readers can fill me in on that one. Still, no matter what the laws are, at least forcing a compromise map is essential in every single state. In most cases, this would require taking back the governorship and/or Senate, all of which are possible. (Actually, now that I think about it, do Governors have any say in the maps at all?)

I do not like gerrymandering, but until more states pass redistricting laws such as Iowa has done, we need to use every tool available to us. The current Republican majority is supported in large measure by the series of maps Republican controlled states drew following the 2000 census. If we can do the same, the next generation will grow up under progressive governance. After all, the House Democratic caucus is one of the few areas of the national party solidly controlled by our progressive wing.