On Monday, following the completion of the 2020 Census, the reapportionment of seats in Congress was announced. Of the seven reapportioned seats, five went to “red states.” In addition, five of the seven seats on the move were taken from “blue states.”
Of the “red” states to gain seats, Texas gained two, while North Carolina, Florida, and Montana gained one each. Oregon and Colorado also gained one seat.
Out of the Left-leaning states to lose seats, California, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York each lost one apiece. Ohio and West Virginia also lost one seat.
States gaining seats in reapportionment:
Texas +2
N. Carolina +1
Colorado +1
Oregon +1
Montana +1
Florida +1States losing seats:
California -1
New York -1
Illinois -1
Michigan -1
Ohio -1
W. Virginia -1
Pennsylvania -1— Ian Haworth (@ighaworth) April 26, 2021
For many on the Right, this appears to be cause for celebration. On the surface, it seems like wonderful news for conservatives. However, there is some serious cause for concern if we look at the bigger picture.
Yes, it is true that five of the seven new seats have gone to “red states,” if we look solely at the state level. But this makes one possibly dangerous assumption: that those who’ve flooded to new states — and helped create the new congressional districts in the first place — will vote in line with their new state.
As “blue states” become ever more radical, we have witnessed a shocking exodus from places like California and New York. For example, according to estimates, 135,600 more people left California than moved there in 2020, “only the 12th time since 1900 the state has had a net migration loss, and the third largest ever recorded,” according to CNBC.
Texas also had a net gain of approximately 100,000 in 2020, making it “the seventh year in a row that Texas has experienced an inflow of more than 500,000 residents, with the majority of them coming from California and Florida.”
Based on the 2020 presidential election, 63.5% of Californian voters supported Joe Biden. While it is likely that a proportion of the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing California are Republicans, it is statistically more likely that a majority of them are Democrats.
This begs the crucial question: why would a Democrat in California vote for a Republican in Texas?
The fact is that some may change their allegiance, but most will not. This means that “red states” will experience an influx of Democrat voters which outpaces the organic increase of Republican voters.
Now, let’s look at the “winning” margins of the states which gained Congressional seats. Texas leaned red in 2020 by just over 600,000 votes. North Carolina’s margin was just over 74,000. Florida’s was just over 371,000. Montana’s was just over 98,000.
Every Democrat that moves from a “blue state” to a “red state” tightens this margin.
In some ways, it’s exciting that people are fleeing states like California and New York. In others, it’s terrifying that “red states” are importing blue voters at a rate far outpacing the Republican strategists in states which, until recently, were politically unchallenged.
It’s time to stop celebrating and think about 2024, before fleeing Democrats turn the entire country blue.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.