That is all... #BigBlueNation.
Part 1 -- North Dakota, South Dakota
Part 2 -- Alaska, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire
Part 3 -- Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska
Part 4 -- West Virginia, New Mexico, Nevada
Part 5 -- Utah, Kansas, West Virginia
Part 6 -- Mississippi, Iowa
Part 7 -- Connecticut, Oklahoma, Oregon
If you hadn't guessed by the intro, this week's entry is Kentucky. Obviously, not the first time I've covered this state on DK. The Bluegrass State would pick up four seats in a Cube Root House. Unlike with a six-seat Democratic gerrymander, though, there is no way to get an even partisan delegation in a ten-seat Democratic gerrymander. Not in this state.
1st District (blue): Extreme western Kentucky up to Greenville, hometown of the Everly Brothers. Paducah and Hopkinsville are the major cities. Ed Whitfield (R-Hopkinsville) would continue to represent this 60.1% McCain district for a long time. Safe R
2d District (green): Green River district. Hopkinsville, Owensboro, and Bowling Green. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green) sees his district become less red, but not too much to make him endangered. 57.4% McCain. Safe R
3d District (purple): Most of the eastern portions of the current 1st and 2d Districts make up this new district. It goes from southern Elizabethtown down to Whitley City, then back up to the southern suburbs of Louisville. 68.8% McCain. This is an open seat for any Republican legislator who wants it. Safe R
4th District (red): Southeastern Kentucky. This district stretches from Somerset to Pikeville. This is half of the current constituency of the eternally corrupt Hal Rogers (R-Somerset). He would continue to represent this state's reddest district, at 71.6% McCain. Safe R
5th District (gold): The rest of Roger's current district has gone here, along with the eastern half of the current 4th District. It starts in coal country and winds it way along the Ohio River up to Alexandria. Teabagger Thomas Massie (R-Garrison) is safe in this 57.7% McCain district. Safe R
6th District (teal): Here's the western half of the current 4th District. This triangular district is formed by the southern Cincinnati suburbs, the northeastern Louisville suburbs, and northern Georgetown. This is an open district that went 62.6% for McCain. Safe R
7th District (dark gray): This heavily gerrymandered urban district spans most of the Interstate 64 corridor. It's anchored by Lexington and includes Frankfort, Versailles, Georgetown, Paris, and Morehead. Four major colleges and universities are represented here--UK, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, and Georgetown College. 51.2% Obama. In a presidential year, all of the college students will likely turn out to boot that notorious convicted felon and pants-on-fire liar Andy Barr (R-Lexington). Tossup
8th District (slate blue): This is the leftovers that I got after drawing the other nine districts. It is a regional district, nonetheless. Wholly central Kentucky. Richmond and Danville are here in their entirety. The suburbs of Lexington, Frankfort, Versailles, and Shelbyville are also included. Nobody currently lives in this 63.5% McCain district, but any generic Republican will get it. Safe R
9th District (cyan): This C-shaped district starts in Shelbyville and runs right through downtown Louisville. It then turns south to Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, Bardstown, and Lebanon. 51.3% Obama. John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) currently represents half of this district, but he will most certainly not run in this district. He would go to the 10th, which is much safer. Expect fireworks in both party primaries, as well as the general. Tossup
10th District (deep pink): The parts of Louisville Metro along the Ohio River. Northern Louisville is predominantly rich. Western Louisville is overwhelmingly African-American. Together, they form a 57.2% Obama district that Yarmuth can call home for a very long time. Safe D
12 Electoral Votes: Unless the Democratic nominee is deeply southern, these votes are Safe R.
If that district map gave you herpetophobia (fear of snakes), here's a cleaner map for Kentucky. 1st and 2d Districts are unchanged from the gerrymander map.
3d District (purple): This south central district now includes Elizabethtown and Bardstown, with an arm going east to Lancaster. Still an open seat, but it's slightly less red--66.6% McCain. Three 6s for a red district. Coincidence? Safe R
4th District (red): This south central district based in Rogers' hometown of Somerset now includes Richmond, Winchester, and Mt. Sterling. Rogers will thoroughly hate his new district because all of his precious coal is fully contained within the new 5th District. It's still deep red, though. 70.3% McCain. Safe R with or without his bloated ass.
5th District (gold): COAL! This district goes as far north as Lewis Co., which means that Massie has a choice. Since the bulk of his current constituency has been split between the new 7th and 8th Districts, Massie would either have to serve coal or move to the next county west. 60.8% McCain. Safe R no matter what.
6th District (teal): Interestingly, this is the only district that has no split counties. These eleven counties add up to a population that is actually within my standard deviation of 500. The college cities of Lexington and Morehead still dominate this district. Can you tell that I really want to get rid of that asshole Barr? With a 50.1% Obama vote record, that task will be slightly tougher here than in the gerrymander. Tossup
7th District (dark gray): A mix of the current 4th and 6th Districts. The capital of Frankfort is the largest city here, although it spans a total of eighteen counties from Danville to Maysville. Most of Massie's rural constituency is here. 60.6% McCain. If Massie doesn't run here, then it will be a free-for-all in the Republican primary. The Republican nominee will go to Washington, barring a huge scandal. Safe R
8th District (slate blue): Massie's urban constituency has gone here. This is exclusively an Ohio River district that follows I-71. It's anchored by the three counties that make up all of Cincinnati's southern suburbs. 61.9% McCain. A Some Dude from the business wing of the GOP will most likely win this seat. Safe R
9th District (cyan): Louisville's suburbs down to Ft. Knox. Again, Yarmuth won't compete here, even though half of his current voters are here. 57.8% McCain. Louisville Metro has several local Republican representatives who could finally get a promotion here. Safe R
10th District (deep pink): 100% urban Louisville. Yarmuth is as safe as he can get in this 64.9% Obama district. Safe D
CUBE ROOT HOUSE (338 required for majority)
States counted: AK, AR, CT, DE, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, ME, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OK, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WV, WY
Best case scenario
Safe D: 36 (added KY-10)
Lean D: 17
Tossup: 9 (added KY-7, KY-9)
Lean R: 7
Safe R: 42 (added KY-1, KY-2, KY-3, KY-4, KY-5, KY-6, KY-8)
Total: 53 D, 9 Toss, 49 R
Worst case scenario
Safe D: 33 (added KY-10)
Lean D: 14
Tossup: 9 (added KY-6)
Lean R: 9
Safe R: 46 (added KY-1, KY-2, KY-3, KY-4, KY-5, KY-7, KY-8, KY-9)
Total: 47 D, 9 Toss, 55 R
CUBE ROOT ELECTORAL COLLEGE (390 required for presidency)
States counted: AK, AR, CT, DE, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, ME, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OK, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WV, WY
Best case scenario
Safe D: CT (10), DE (4), HI (5), ME (4), OR (10), RI (4), VT (3) = 40
Lean D: IA (9), ME (1), NE (1), NH (5), NM (7), NV (8) = 31
Tossup: NE (1) = 1
Lean R: MT (4) = 4
Safe R: AK (4), AR (8), ID (5), KS (8), KY (12), MS (9), ND (4), NE (4), OK (10), SD (4), UT (8), WV (6), WY (3) = 85
Total: 71 D, 1 Toss, 89 R
Worst case scenario
Safe D: CT (10), DE (4), HI (5), ME (4), OR (10), RI (4), VT (3) = 40
Lean D: ME (1), NE (1), NH (5), NM (7) = 14
Tossup: IA (9), NV (8) = 17
Lean R: MT (4), NE (1) = 5
Safe R: AK (4), AR (8), ID (5), KS (8), KY (12), MS (9), ND (4), NE (4), OK (10), SD (4), UT (8), WV (6), WY (3) = 85
Total: 54 D, 17 Toss, 90 R