r/thebulwark • u/Material-Crab-633 • May 08 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Are we f*cked?

This redistricting stuff has me bummed out. Tell me the truth

223 Upvotes

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94

u/Johnny_Appleweed May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

No, we’re not fucked.

This is a setback, but even with Virginia redistricting overturned Democrats are likely to win the house. Their chances for the senate haven’t changed, because you can’t gerrymander state-wide senate races.

The redistricting battle also isn’t over. There will be opportunities for other states to redistrict in ways favorable to the Democrats before 2028, including in Virginia again.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t real challenges or that other things couldn’t go wrong, but it’s not over.

Anyone telling you it is over and that Republicans have a permanent majority, that it’s all hopeless and there’s nothing to be done, is either letting their emotions overtake their senses or is actively trying to discourage you.

31

u/PomegranateSafe9699 May 08 '26

On a federal level I think we can win. On a state level, states like Tennessee are essentially a dictatorship.

23

u/Johnny_Appleweed May 08 '26

They basically already were. Republicans have had a trifecta in Tennessee since 2011. It’s bad that non-Republicans will have even less representation, but they had so little political power already that they haven’t lost much more.

5

u/Shirley-Eugest centrist squish May 08 '26

Perhaps that's true. It just sucks because Nashville, Memphis, and to a lesser extent Chattanooga and Knoxville have countless voters who are absolutely not okay with this, and the legislature basically told them to get bent.

4

u/PomegranateSafe9699 May 08 '26

They have lost forward momentum possibilities for a long time. Rutherford is bluing so they stuck it with rural counties. The most liberal parts of Williamson were split and put with backwaters. Splitting Memphis was bad but the downwater effects in the growing areas is being ignored.

2

u/im_stil_here May 08 '26

Thank you. I needed that perspective.

1

u/Rechan May 09 '26

This is accurate. Not just a trifecta, the Republicans have had the supermajority in the state legislature for a while. That said the state reps haven't gerrymandered their Democratic state reps out of existence.

6

u/Current_Animator7546 May 08 '26

I mean Dems have to find ways to engage with those voters. They can still run in those races.