Senate maps loose rural protections
Several different analyses indicate the current redistricting map for the senate will likely create a de-facto Democratic majority. Urban Pennsylvania will have a disproportionate voice over ALL Pennsylvanians. This is an inherently political process with significant political implications. It is normally understood that the Senate is not a “population driven” legislative body, but is designed to give more voice regionally than it is by population density. It appears the current approach creates a senate that is more based on population density than it is on regional characteristics. There are more than a few indicators the minority party is driving the redistricting to their overall benefit and with the new Senate maps, the regional voice afforded to rural Pennsylvania will be lost. One of the members of the redistricting commission, Rep. McClinton (D), House Democrat Leader, has said on numerous occasions in public (easily documented) that redistricting will be the method by which the Democrat party gains control of the entire PA legislature. According to FEC records, the redistricting chairman, Mr. Nordenburg, contributed $2,000 to the 2020 Biden campaign. He was also part of the Wolf Administration transition team. His political leanings likely follow his money and political efforts. With these maps and the new Democrat majorities they are likely to produce, Pennsylvania may very well be on the road to looking like New York State – bringing with it the death knell for rural and small-town Pennsylvania.