In the end, both Democrats' and Republicans' efforts to expand their share of the
congressional seats through redistricting were unsuccessful. The Democrats succeeded in
blocking the Republican plans that might have reduced their share to a single seat but could not
secure a third seat. Republicans, on the other hand, failed to secure the seventh congressional
district as a safe GOP seat. For the most part, the Colorado congressional delegation looks
almost exactly as it did in 2000.
Similarities & Differences
There are several similarities between the Texas and Colorado redistricting struggles
following the post-2000 census reapportionment of congressional seats:
(1) Both states gain representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas moving
from 30 to 32 seats and Colorado from six to seven. But the redistricting debates were not
limited to the placement of the new seat(s) but expanded to include the redesign of existing seats
to partisan advantage.
(2) The inability of the state legislature to enact a congressional redistricting plan resulted
in judicially-crafted plans. The only distinction was that the initial Texas plan originated from a
federal court ruling while the initial Colorado plan was established by a state court.
(3) The 2000 elections resulted in Texas and Colorado having Republican governors but
divided party control of the two chambers of the state legislature. Much of the conflict would
have been avoided had Republicans controlled the Texas and Colorado state governments when
redistricting was first considered during 2001. Republican successes in the 2002 elections, when
the GOP gained full control of state government in both states, set the stage for the showdowns
over re-redistricting in 2003.
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Convention